'We're not Americans': Trudeau tells Jen Psaki he’s ‘flattered’ by Trump’s interest in Canada, says he’s looking forward to ‘taking a bit of a break’

Outgoing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sat down with former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki for an interview on her MSNBC show, “Inside.” The interview comes after weeks of back and forth between the Canadian prime minister and President-elect Donald Trump, who has made it clear that he is none too pleased with the trade deficits being posted between Canada and the United States.

During the interview, Trudeau said once again that there was no chance Canada would become the 51st state, an idea that Trump has floated several times and even said last week was something he would want to achieve through economic force.

“Let’s remember, I got to work with President Trump through his first four years in office. We were able to renegotiate the most important trade deal either of us have… in a way that was beneficial to both our countries. I know as a successful negotiator he likes to keep people off balance. The 51st state, it’s not going to happen. Canadians are incredibly proud of being Canadian, but people are now talking about that rather than the impact that 25 percent tariffs… No American wants to pay 25 percent more for electricity or oil and gas coming in from Canada.”

Trudeau was asked about Trump’s potential expansionist ideology following the president-elect’s renewed interest in Greenland and now potentially Canada, with Trudeau chalking it up to some level of “flattery.”

“We need to take that seriously,” Trudeau said. “From my very first conversations with him in 2016, he told me how much he admires Canada, how much he appreciates and likes us. There’s a certain amount of flattery in this that he thinks we are as great as we are. He’s right, we are great. We’re also very, very proud of being Canadian.”

Trudeau also said that a key part of being Canadian is “we’re not Americans.” The prime minister said being called the 51st governor by Trump was not something he was focused on.

"I tend to focus on the substantive things, and not on people choosing nicknames for me. I mean, if I was that thin-skinned I probably wouldn't last that long in politics."

Trudeau commented on his decision to resign as leader of the Canadian Liberals and thus as prime minister. Psaki asked whether criticism of the Liberals being out of touch was unfair, to which Trudeau touted what “progressives” need to focus on. He also boasted about Canada supposedly having the fastest-growing economy in the G7, despite Canada’s GDP per capita falling behind the rest of the developed world.

Trudeau went on to talk about making sure there were “fewer barriers for minorities and women and vulnerable people... But you can easily turn that into a woke argument that says, ‘Oh, you're just working for minorities and women and you're not taking care of the economy.’”

When asked about his plans for his post-prime ministerial life, Trudeau said he was excited to be there for his children “as an active dad, making lunches.”

“I got into politics because I have kids, not in spite of my kids,” Trudeau said. "Now it’s time to be able to focus on ourselves as a family.”