In December, after threatening Canada with crippling 25-per-cent tariffs, Donald Trump posted an AI-generated image of him bizarrely laying claim to the Canadian Rockies (though the Swiss Alps were pictured) and the Maple Leaf flag. Mr. Trump’s other statements that month left little doubt about the narrative he was spinning. Following a dinner with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who had gone to Mar-a-Lago to try to head off the tariffs, Mr. Trump seemingly demoted the Prime Minister, calling him the governor “of the Great State of Canada.”
Then, on Jan. 6, after Mr. Trudeau announced he would be stepping down, Mr. Trump’s language became more radical – “Many people in Canada LOVE being the 51st State” – as if annexation was a fait accompli.
