Canada — the 51st State? Plus, Art Cashin, RIP
Author: Greg Valliere
December 4, 2024
ONCE AGAIN THE IDEA OF CANADA BECOMING THE 51ST STATE has gotten traction, following the visit by Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau to Mar-a-Lago that raised eyebrows in Washington.
PRESIDENT-ELECT TRUMP SUGGESTED that the U.S. could annex Canada, according to participants who were at the three-hour dinner. Fox News claimed that’s when Trump floated the idea of statehood for Canada, “which caused the prime minister and others to laugh nervously.”
WAS IT JUST A JOKE? Probably — but the Canadians came out of the meeting with some victories — a chance to make an argument that new tariffs could badly hurt Canada and other countries; and the dinner was an opportunity to patch up the once-icy relations between the two leaders.
A SENSE IS GROWING that Trump is testing the waters; he feels strongly about imposing new tariffs on China, but Canada and Mexico still have a chance of watering down Trump’s initial proposal — while still maintaining their sovereignty.
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ART CASHIN, RIP: Wish we got to know him better because Art was a true original. In a very read-able obituary on the CNBC web site, there was this delightful paragraph:
“CASHIN REFUSED TO USE CREDIT CARDS and paid for everything, particularly his voluminous bar bills, with cash, saying he cherished his anonymity.” The CNBC commentator “never learned to use a computer — his notes were hand-written and then sent to his assistant. For years, he used an obsolete flip phone that he rarely answered.”
ART WAS A GENUINE STAR, funny and brilliant, and he never understood why.
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