Trump complains to aides about Canada's vulnerability to Russia and China in Arctic – NBC News
US President Donald Trump is becoming increasingly critical of Canada in private conversations with his aides with regard to what he calls Canada's vulnerability to US adversaries in the Arctic, NBC News has reported.
Source: NBC News, citing two US officials, a senior administration official and three former senior officials familiar with the discussions, as reported by European Pravda
Details: As Trump's advisers work towards his objective of acquiring Greenland, the president has grown increasingly concerned that Canada would not, in his view, be able to adequately defend its borders against a potential Russian or Chinese encroachment, arguing that Ottawa should spend more on defence, the officials said.
They added that this pressure from the president has accelerated internal discussions about a broader Arctic strategy and the potential to reach an agreement with Canada this year to strengthen its northern border.
"Trump is really worried about the US continuing to drift in the Western Hemisphere and is focused on this," one of the officials said.
Current US officials said this would not involve deploying US troops on Canada's northern border. And unlike with Greenland, Trump does not seek to acquire Canada and is not saying he could take it using US armed forces, the senior administration official and current and former US officials said.
Trump's intensified personal focus on Canada, whose relations with the US have been highly strained, comes as he turns some of his long-standing criticism of America's neighbours in the Western Hemisphere into actions aimed at expanding US influence in the region.
Asked about the president's renewed focus on Canada behind closed doors, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said that an executive order Trump signed in April last year "underscores the United States' commitment to ensuring both freedom of navigation and American dominance in the Arctic waterways".
Background: Trump's criticism of Canada began during his first term. Last year it reached a peak when he said he could use "economic force" to seize the country and turn it from America's northern neighbour into the 51st state. Trump sparked a trade war with Canada and openly argued with its government. Recently, these public tensions have eased.
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