Yves-François Blanchet said he was delighted with the productive meeting between Justin Trudeau and Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago last Friday. However, he remained bitter about the president-elect’s joke about Canada becoming the 51ste American state.
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“I see it as a joke and I’m not sure it’s in good taste,” declared the leader of the Bloc Québécois in an interview on Mario Dumont’s show on LCN on Tuesday.
He is not surprised to have heard these words coming out of Mr. Trump’s mouth. “It’s a very Mr. Trump joke,” he said. We see what he can do when he’s in a good mood, we already know what he can do when he’s in a bad mood.”
The leader of the Bloc, however, said he was surprised by this joke, which was well received by certain Quebecers and Canadians.
“The most surprising thing is that there are people in Quebec and Canada who fantasize about this funny idea,” he added.
According to him, these individuals should “abandon the social safety net” in Quebec and expose themselves to private practices in the United States to understand the daily lives of Americans.
“It’s another reality,” he said.
Adapting to Donald Trump
Yves-François Blanchet welcomed the decision of the Canadian Prime Minister to go to Mar-a-Lago, in Florida, to have dinner with the American president-elect.
Photo taken from X, JUSTIN TRUDEAU
“That’s the way to go when you want to reestablish positive relationships,” he explained.
Mr. Trump’s victory is not unanimous and for the leader of the Bloc, we have to admit that he is here for four years. “We will have to adapt to that, we have to stick together,” he admitted.
Since Mr. Trump’s threats of customs taxes, Mr. Blanchet asked the Prime Minister to table a plan to better manage both sides of the Canadian-American border. The leader of the opposition, Pierre Poilievre, as well as the provincial premiers, including François Legault, also put pressure on the Liberals.
“As strange as it may seem, we are not the antipodes of Mr. Trump,” illustrated Yves-François Blanchet.
To watch the full interview, click on the video above.
