A brief exchange between U.S. President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at the Gaza Peace Summit on Monday went viral after Trump mistakenly referred to Carney as “President.”
The summit, held at Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh resort, brought together more than two dozen world leaders to finalize a peace agreement between Israel and Hamas.
“You have Canada. That’s so great to have. In fact, the President called, and he wanted to know if it was worth—well, he knew exactly what it is. He knew the importance. Where’s Canada, by the way? Where are you? He knew the importance of this,” Trump said.
After the speech, Carney shook hands with Trump. A hot microphone recorded a brief exchange between the two leaders. “Thanks for upgrading me to President,” Carney joked.
At that, Trump smiled, patted Carney on the shoulder and said, “Oh, did I call you that? At least I didn’t call you a governor.”
“The Republican has sparked a trade war with Canada with his tariffs while repeatedly making extraordinary calls for the key NATO ally and major trading partner to become part of the United States throughout the first part of this year,” News18 reported.
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During a May visit to the White House, Carney said that trade talks with the U.S. were “complex” but also said that discussions with the American president were “very constructive.”
However, he did say he urged Trump to stop calling for Canada to become the 51st US state.
“I told him that it wasn’t useful to repeat this idea, but the president will say what he wants,” Carney, speaking in French, said at the time.
Canada had expressed interest in joining a missile defense system unveiled by Trump last week, designed to protect against a broad range of threats. However, Canadian officials emphasized that the country would not accept any arrangement that compromised its national sovereignty.
“I told Canada, which very much wants to be part of our fabulous Golden Dome System, that it will cost $61 Billion Dollars if they remain a separate, but unequal, Nation,” Trump posted on his Truth Social network in May.
“But (it) will cost ZERO DOLLARS if they become our cherished 51st State. They are considering the offer!” Trump claimed in a social media post in May.
Carney, who won an election in April in part because of Canadians’ resistance to Trump’s desire to incorporate the nation into the United States, informed Trump earlier this month that his country “won’t be for sale, ever.”
King Charles III, Canada’s acknowledged ruler, delivered a speech to the Canadian Parliament on Tuesday that appeared to reject Trump’s proposal to purchase the North American country and make it the 51st state of the United States.
“Canadians can give themselves far more than any foreign power on any continent can ever take away,” he said. “And that, by staying true to Canadian values, Canada can build new alliances and a new economy that serves all Canadians.”
Regarding the “Golden Dome,” Trump said last spring that the United States had formally picked the design for the missile defense system, which would establish a network of satellites to detect, track, and potentially intercept incoming ballistic missiles.
The US president stated that the project will cost $175 billion to develop and would be “fully operational” within three years. He also announced that Canada will be included in its safety net.
“Canada has called us, and they want to be a part of it. So we’ll be talking to them; they want to have protection also,” Trump said then.
Carney’s office has said that there were “active discussions” between the U.S. and Canada on current and new security programs, including Golden Dome.
“Canadians gave the prime minister a strong mandate to negotiate a comprehensive new security and economic relationship with the United States,” a spokesperson for Carney told BBC News.