During a three-hour dinner at his ostentatious Mar-a-Lago club, President-elect Donald Trump goaded Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, saying Canada can solve its economic challenges by becoming America’s 51st state.

At the moment, Canada’s biggest economic challenge is the incoming president himself. For no rational reason, Trump has threatened to slap a 25% tariff on all products imported from our neighbor to the north. Trudeau rushed to Florida to dine with the tariff-obsessed Trump hoping to talk him out of a drastic trade disruption that would not only wreck the Canadian economy but would have serious consequences in the U.S., particularly for the home building industry that relies heavily on Canadian lumber and the many American citizens who are struggling to afford a new home.

Allegedly, the meeting was friendly and Canadian officials insisted the prime minister was not offended by the rude joke about demoting Canada to 51st state status. Maybe they laughed through gritted teeth, as well, when, the next day, Trump posted a manufactured image of himself standing under a Canadian flag, staring out at a tall mountain that was intended to be a peak in the Rocky Mountains, but which looked exactly like the Matterhorn.

No word, yet, about whether that indicates Trump is considering Switzerland as a candidate for statehood, too.

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