Top Military Commander Cornered on Trump’s Crackpot Plans for Canada
Jonathan Alcorn / REUTERS A top U.S. admiral gave a puzzling response when pressed on whether he would attack Canada if President Donald Trump ordered him to.
Samuel J.
Paparo, who leads the U.S.
Pacific Command, was asked at a joint military conference in Canada on Wednesday under what circumstances he would obey an order to launch military action against America’s northern neighbor, according to the Ottawa Citizen .
The admiral, visibly caught off guard, called the question “needlessly emotional” but avoided giving a straight answer.
“I find that—I find that scenario to be, uh, absolutely and utterly preposterous,” Paparo said, as seen in a video shared on X by Wiretap Media.
“And so, uh, I follow the—I follow the orders of the commander-in-chief, but, uh, that is a needlessly emotional question.” 💥The Washington Post tried to capture CBC News “elbows up” invasion panic by asking Admiral Samuel J.
Paparo under what circumstances he would obey orders to invade Canada.
He called the scenario “absolutely and utterly preposterous,” and nearly broke out into hysterical… pic.twitter.com/TI4PdAmFy0 — Wiretap Media (@WiretapMediaCa) September 2, 2026 “I don’t find—forgive my, forgive my saying it, too—is that, uh...
Canada is a close ally,” he continued.
Paparo paused for a moment, laughing nervously before adding, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be—insult you.” The reporter replied that the admiral still hadn’t answered the question.
“I said I follow the orders of the president and I find it to be a, uh... would you ask me, please, also, what my attack plans are for the Martians?” the military commander replied jokingly before saying he rejected the premise of the question.
Asked about Paparo’s comments and whether the U.S. would ever attack Canada, the Pentagon told the Daily Beast it had “nothing to provide.” Tensions between the U.S. and its neighboring ally have risen in the wake of the trade war sparked by the Trump administration.
Administration officials, as well as the president himself, have fanned the flames by attacking Canada with childish insults.
5News aggregated this summary from the outlet’s public feed. The full article, with all the context, is on www.thedailybeast.com — the content belongs to The Daily Beast.
