Trump Spokesperson Says He's "Not Sure Why You'd Want To Go To Canada" On Live TV

He also said the U.S. is the "greatest country on the face of the planet."
Contributor

With the border reportedly staying closed into August, Americans who want to head north are out of luck. However, a Trump spokesperson's Canada comments would have us believe it's no big deal. He said so while being interviewed on live TV.

During an interview with CNN's Brianna Keilar, Hogan Gidley, the spokesperson for President Donald Trump's campaign, said he didn't understand why anyone would want to go to Canada.

Editor's Choice: A Pink Whale Was Spotted Off The Coast Of Newfoundland & There Are Theories About It

"Hogan, Canada won't let us in," Keilar says, referencing a poll on which countries are handling the global pandemic the best.

"I'm not sure why you would want to go to Canada when we live in the greatest country on the face of the planet," Gidley replies, "that's Donald Trump’s mentality on it."

"Well if you want to get away from coronavirus you might," Keilar responds.

Gidley may not be aware of the over 10,000 U.S. Citizens who have tried to cross the border only to be denied entry.

Nearly 5,000 of them claimed they wanted to enter Canada for shopping, sightseeing, and other recreational activities.

The border between the two countries has been shut down to non-essential travel since March.

Even with a group of U.S. politicians calling for it to reopen, a majority of Canadians would prefer that it remain closed.

Canada has managed to flatten its curve enough that most of the country has begun cautiously reopening.

According to Worldometers, as of writing, the country is currently dealing with 27,601 active cases, with the total count sitting at 109,264 confirmed overall.

In the United States, the situation is objectively much direr.

With a population roughly nine times larger than that of its northern neighbour, the U.S. has had over 33 times as many confirmed cases, with over 1.8 million of them being active.

In June, Florida's case count surpassed Canada's and has continued to climb to over 315,000.

Even with the border closed, some American tourists have been able to get into Canada by using the Alaska loophole.

So, it does seem like some of them would want to come here after all.

  • Colin Leggett was a Contributing Editor with Narcity Canada. He wrote on the national news team for over a year and contributed to coverage of the 2019 Canadian Federal Election, as well as the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. Colin has a Bachelor's Degree in Communications and Cultural Theory from McMaster University, as well as a graduate certificate in Television Writing and Producing from Humber College. He is an avid consumer of politics and pop culture, having written about everything from food to television to Canada-U.S. relations.

Over 26,000 Canadians are in Mexico and travellers are being urged to register with the feds

More than 8,000 Canadians in Mexico have already contacted Global Affairs Canada in the last day.

Feds refuse to say if Canadians should cancel trips to Mexico, even as flights resume

Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand refused to give an answer when probed.

Gunman at Mexico pyramids kills Canadian tourist

Canadian tourist killed, another injured after gunman opens fire at Mexico pyramids

Alberta to do away with twice-a-year time change

Alberta's government says it will do away with twice-a-year time change

Poll suggests more Tory voters now want new leader

Poll suggests more Conservative voters now want to replace Poilievre as leader

IRCC acting on auditor recommendations: official

Deputy minister says immigration department fixing integrity issues cited by auditor

Ottawa announces increase in China direct flights

Ottawa announces 'incremental increase' in direct flights to China