Trump voters brush off threats to Canadian sovereignty as a joke and a distraction

The grin begins to signifier connected Joseph Redmon's face, and there's adjacent a small chuckle, astatine the archetypal notation of Canada becoming the 51st state.

"It's a joke," helium says implicit and over. 

"It would ne'er happen. It cannot happen. It volition not happen," helium says definitively, earlier helium adjacent hears the afloat question. 

"He's doing that conscionable to get nether people's tegument and to marque them upset, that's conscionable benignant of his mantra," Redmon says. He's alert that Canadians are mostly opposed to annexation, and from a applicable standpoint, helium thinks it would wounded Republicans successful the agelong run, fixed Canada's comparatively left-leaning politics.

Canadians should presumption it arsenic a compliment, helium says: "Every clip you each perceive that, you should conscionable smile."

The retired U.S. Army Major sat down with CBC News, on with 5 different Republican voters successful agrarian Kentucky, for candid conversations astir President Donald Trump's instrumentality to power. The authorities voted for Trump successful the past 3 elections, and successful Meade County, wherever CBC News caught up with voters, Trump won with 75 per cent support. 

Despite the rollout of his tariffs causing large backlash overseas — peculiarly successful Canada, a repeated people of the U.S. president's annexation threats — respective Trump voters who spoke with CBC News said they inactive enactment him, oregon adjacent outright dismissed his caller rhetoric arsenic a gag oregon distraction tactic.

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'It's a distraction'

That includes Ginny Delano, 72, a retiree, who thinks Trump is trying to taunt Canadians.

"I conscionable deliberation it's comic erstwhile there's a batch of radical with TDS, Trump derangement syndrome," she says, referring to the derogatory word utilized to picture antagonistic reactions to Trump that are seen arsenic irrational.  

"Their heads explode, and I deliberation it's comic erstwhile helium says that benignant of worldly and gets a emergence retired of them." 

Her husband, Gale Delano, 85, is much sympathetic to Canadian frustration.

"I tin recognize Canadians getting upset, due to the fact that that's their country," helium says. 

"And you know, if it's America, we're going to combat for America, and Canadians are going to combat for their country."

Some accidental Trump's annexation speech isn't serious.

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"I deliberation that it's — again — it's a distraction," says Mark Burnett, seat of the Meade County Republican Party. 

"If the radical of Canada wanted to beryllium a 51st state, I deliberation that would beryllium thing we would each speech about. But of people it's not similar we're going to — it's not similar the U.S. is going to invade Canada. 

"You get that benignant of rhetoric retired of the media a batch of times. It's like, we're not going to bash that."

Bracing for tariffs

But connected Trump's tariff plan, galore of the voters who spoke with CBC News believed that it volition cause, astatine the precise least, immoderate short-term economical instability. 

"It's going to person an interaction connected employment and jobs, but sometimes to hole what's truly broken, you've got to enactment a small symptom successful it," said John Clauer, different retiree who voted for Trump.

The on-again-off-again tariff docket has already had a antagonistic interaction connected the banal market, and has made the U.S. a people for retaliation. Canada has imposed tariffs connected tens of billions of dollars successful U.S. goods, portion immoderate provinces person pulled American products, including alcohol, from store shelves.

Clauer, who is profoundly acrophobic astir the U.S. deficit, supports Trump's efforts to rein successful spending. He views tariffs arsenic different instrumentality astatine Trump's disposal.  

"I conscionable deliberation that radical successful different countries request to admit the presumption that we're in. And recognize that his tariffs are being utilized to effort to rebuild the United States economy, and to bring the shortage nether control."

Several Trump supporters who spoke to CBC News stock this worry.

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"I deliberation it's … a starting constituent to accidental we request to bash thing different," says Burnett, of the Meade County GOP.

"It's a small scary, of course," helium admitted, but helium says the measures are necessary.

"I deliberation American businesses person gotten addicted to inexpensive labour abroad, and evidently that doesn't person arsenic overmuch to bash with Canada, but it's inactive a mindset we person to woody with." 

Support for Trump remains intact

For these voters, Trump's instrumentality to the White House, and his archetypal 2 months successful bureau are seen truthful acold arsenic a success.

"I deliberation it's a agleam figure," says Ginny Delano.

Her hubby Gale Delano shares that consciousness of optimism astir Trump. 

"He's going astatine break-neck velocity close now. He's doing everything helium promised helium would do; that's hard to accidental astir a politician."

Doug Cornett, 81, a retired teacher and schoolhouse administrator, isn't rather definite what to deliberation astir Trump's tariffs, but he's consenting to springiness the president the payment of the doubt.

"Right now, it mightiness beryllium a small spot rough, but I deliberation it volition yet creaseless retired and things volition beryllium great."

And portion Trump's blunt, assertive benignant is not needfully thing each of his voters like, it's bearable. 

"He does things his way. I'm gladsome I don't enactment for him, but I enactment him successful trying to heal the U.S. economy," says Clauer, the retiree acrophobic with the deficit. 

Joseph Redmon views Trump arsenic the close person for this moment.

"He is simply a disruptor. 

"We hired him to bash this, we request it, America is successful trouble."