Carney says Trump raised '51st state' during their call but 'the president says a lot of things’

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Liberal Leader Mark Carney confirmed that U.S. President Donald Trump did bring up the prospect of Canada becoming the 51st state during their March 28 call, while insisting Trump did show respect for the country as a sovereign nation.

"The president says lots of things, but the essence of the discussion and where we moved the conversation to, was exactly what I said," Carney said during a campaign stop in Port Moody, B.C., on Apr 24. 

Carney said that while Trump did bring up the 51st state, he chose, at the time, to describe where the two leaders ended their conversation, rather than giving a detailed blow-by-blow of the call. 

"The president has certain things in his mind, that he reverts back to all the time," Carney said. "We had discussions as sovereign nations. We agreed as sovereign nations that these negotiations will begin after the election on Monday.”