Rubio defends Trumps 51st state rhetoric while on Canadian soil – National [Video]

The top diplomat of the U.S. government on Friday defended U.S. President Donald Trump’s repeated call to make Canada the 51st state, calling it an economic “argument” that “stands for itself” while speaking on Canadian soil.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio was repeatedly pressed by reporters at the conclusion of the G7 foreign ministers summit in Charlevoix, Que., about whether he agrees with Trump’s comments, which have escalated amid a growing trade war to include calling the Canada-U.S. border an “artificial line.”

“The Canadian government has made their position, how they feel about it [annexation] clear, and the president has made his argument about why he thinks Canada would be better off joining the United States for economic purposes,” Rubio said.

“There’s a disagreement between the president’s position and the position of the Canadian government. I don’t think that’s a mystery coming in, and it wasn’t a topic of conversation because that’s not what this summit was …