Following a meeting between President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at the Oval Office, New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman suggested Trump may not have a clear strategy or specific end goal regarding his demands from Canada.
Speaking on CNN to Anderson Cooper, Haberman commented that Trump’s desired outcome seems centered solely around being perceived as victorious rather than advancing concrete policies. “I’m not sure that it’s clear to him what kind of actual, specific outcome he’s looking for,” she explained. “He essentially wants an outcome in which the U.S. appears to have come out ahead.”
During the Oval Office exchange, President Trump moved away from previous assertions about acquiring Canada as the 51st U.S. state, an idea that Carney strongly dismissed, emphasizing explicitly that Canada was firmly “not for sale” and would never be available for annexation.
Despite the diplomatic discussions, Trump remained unmoved in his stance regarding tariffs. He insisted categorically there was nothing Carney could do or say to ease U.S. tariffs currently imposed on Canadian imports. Earlier on his Truth Social platform, the president repeated an unsubstantiated claim that the United States was effectively “subsidizing” Canada by around $200 billion per year, despite Canada having been the largest purchaser of American products in 2024.
Trump went further, dismissing Canadian imports of cars, steel, aluminum, and other commodities, reiterating his preference for domestic self-reliance. “We want to be able to do it ourself,” Trump stated.
Haberman predicts the eventual outcome of negotiations between the Trump administration and Canada will amount to little more than a generalized understanding or framework, not an actual finalized trade agreement. According to Haberman, Trump will likely portray any superficial framework as a definitive win despite lacking substantial, concrete results. Actual trade deals, she emphasized, require months or sometimes years of detailed negotiation—time frames seemingly incompatible with the president’s expectations for immediate victory.
“Trump will find some kind of off-ramp,” Haberman noted. “But it’s doubtful he knows exactly what he wants beyond generating a headline that declares his success.”
