Alex Wong/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sidestepped their differing views on Syrian refugees and the security implications of immigration during their joint press conference at the White House Monday afternoon.
When asked if he was confident about the safety of the northern U.S. border, Trump said “you can never be totally confident.”
Trump later said that there are “many, many problems” that he has learned about in more detail since being elected, saying that North Korea is a “big, big, problem” but noted that “we have problems [in] just about every corner of the globe.”
Trudeau demurred from criticizing the U.S.’s decision to stop accepting Syrian refugees.
“The last thing Canadians expect is for me to come down and lecture another country,” Trudeau said, noting that instead he will try to “be a positive example in the world.”
During his prepared remarks, Trump highlighted some of the ways that he feels the U.S. and Canada will work together.
“Our two nations share much more than a border. We share the same values, we share the love, the truly great love of freedom,” Trump said.
Trump said that “both of our countries are stronger when we join forces,” and said that the U.S. is “deeply fortunate to have a neighbor like Canada.”
“We should coordinate closely and we will coordinate closely to protect jobs in our hemisphere and to keep wealth on our continent and to keep everyone safe,” Trump said.
Trudeau said that the two countries have a “deep, abiding respect for one another” and said that their “mutual respect… that’s a good thing because as we know, relationships between neighbors are pretty complex.”
Trudeau is the third foreign leader to meet with Trump at the White House.
The two leaders spoke in the Oval Office earlier Monday and released a joint statement before the news conference, noting that they “recognize the security of our borders as a top priority.”
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