Canada as the 51st State? In Electoral Terms, Trump’s Idea Favors Democrats.
As President Trump looks north and repeatedly presses his case to absorb Canada as the “51st state,” politically minded Democrats who are otherwise outraged by almost everything else about his agenda find themselves contemplating a potential electoral boon should it ever happen.
Few in Washington take the prospect all that seriously, of course. Canada has made clear that it has no interest in joining the United States, and Mr. Trump seems unlikely to send in the 82nd Airborne Division to force the matter. But if the idea appeals to Mr. Trump’s grandiose sense of himself as an empire-building historic figure, it could also undercut his own party’s prospects.
Canada, a land of socialized health care, friendly immigration policies and a commitment to protecting the environment, is not exactly MAGA territory, after all. Making it a state, according to some early studies of popular opinion and voting patterns, would almost surely cost Republicans control of the House, trim their majority in the Senate and make it harder for them to win the White House in future elections.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I strongly agree with Donald Trump,” said former Representative Steve Israel of New York, who headed the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “Canada is largely left of center, and making it the 51st state means more Democrats in Congress and Electoral College votes, not to mention providing universal health care and combating climate change.”
Whether Mr. Trump understands that absorbing Canada might be self-destructive for the Republican Party is not clear. He has never been particularly engaged by party building, nor demonstrated much concern about what happens politically after he leaves office. During the campaign last year, he told Christian supporters that “you won’t have to vote anymore” after electing him in November.