US Ambassador Hoekstra Explains Repost of Trump’s ’51st State’ Comment

U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra said he amplified a post by U.S. President Donald Trump calling again for Canada to join the United States because he wanted to present the president’s viewpoint. “As the president’s representative to Canada, I present the president’s views, the United States’ views to Canada,” Hoekstra told reporters in Quebec City on June 3. Trump made a post on Truth Social on June 1 that simply read “51st State!” alongside a link to a Bloomberg article about Canada hitting a technical recession. Statistics Canada reported on May 29 that Canada’s GDP declined for the past two consecutive quarters on an annualized basis, meeting the common definition of a technical recession.