Canada Stands Up To Bullies Cloaked In The U.S. Flag
Trump might’ve picked the wrong fight this time.
Donald Trump has openly sided with America’s adversaries while actively provoking our allies. So far this week, he’s cut off aid to Ukraine and is considering easing sanctions on Russia. He’s also launched a trade war against Canada and Mexico. It’s Wednesday. You can expect busy weeks when your country’s led by a power-mad despot.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau framed Trump’s actions for what they are — a senseless attack on his nation and a deep personal betrayal: “Today, the United States launched a trade war against Canada — their closest partner and ally, their closest friend. Canadians are reasonable, but we will not back down from a fight. Not when our country is at stake.”
Trudeau spoke directly to the American people, apologizing for the needless suffering Trump’s moronic actions would create. He sounded like the leader of a free nation reaching out to people living under a dictatorship.
“I want to speak first directly to the American people,” he said. “We don’t want this. We want to work with you as a friend and ally. We don’t want to see you hurt either. But your government has chosen to do this to you. As of this morning, markets are down and inflation is set to rise dramatically.” (Clip below courtesy of
.)
The True North, strong and free
Trudeau takes all this pretty seriously, considering that Trump keeps yammering on about making Canada the 51st state (presumably, Jupiter to Wyoming’s Pluto). His Putin-esque designs on our northern neighbor underscores the “war” in trade war. Trump has called Canada’s prime minister “Governor Trudeau,” because grade-school taunts are MAGA’s version of cowboy diplomacy.
“What he wants is to see a total collapse of the Canadian economy,” Trudeau said. “Because that will make it easier to annex us. First of all, that’s never going to happen. We will never be the 51st state.”
Trudeau is talking about the U.S. president, who’s acting more like a Kirkland-brand Putin than the leader of the free world, a title Trump willingly relinquished. This is very different from the last time relations between the U.S. and Canada got colder than the Yukon. In 1930, Republicans passed the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, which raised tariffs on products imported from Canada. The motivation was slightly more reasonable than Trump’s tantrum: The Great Depression had just begun, and the U.S. wanted to protect its jobs from foreign competition. It was still incredibly stupid. President Herbert Hoover denounced the bill as “vicious, extortionate, and obnoxious” but he signed it into law anyway under pressure from his party. This is considered his single greatest policy blunder from a Greatest Hits album-worth of policy blunders: Canada retaliated with higher tariffs against U.S. products and increased trade with Britain.
Democrats campaigned on lower tariffs in 1932, and Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Democratic-controlled Congress passed the Reciprocal Tariff Act in 1934. This gave the president the ability to negotiate tariffs, which Roosevelt used to liberalize global trade. Unfortunately, Trump is using this power as a blunt object for his gangster-style governance.
GOP Gangsters
Republican House Rep. Lisa McClain echoed Trump’s twisted sentiments when she said at a press event, “Our enemies and adversaries actually fear and respect us again. Especially our allies. America will no longer be taken advantage of.”
Trump has an emotionally damaged child’s view of the world. When he first sullied the democratic process, he insisted that other nations were “laughing” at us. That wasn’t true, even during the George W. Bush years. America at its worst is like a loaded gun in the hands of a monkey. It might seem comical, but the immediate threat to your life dampens the humor.
No sane person wants their friends to “fear” them. In 1993’s A Bronx Tale, the gangster Sonny (Chazz Palminteri) is asked if he’d rather be loved or feared. He chooses fear because he falsely believes that “fear lasts longer than love.”
It’s also a mistake to conflate “fear” with “respect.” Trump can make people fear him but he’ll never know true respect. Cult-like adoration from his supporters isn’t “respect,” either, but rather its own form of fear.
“I’ve just spent some time over the past few weeks meeting with allies to talk,” Trudeau said. “And I can tell you that every country is very, very aware that if the American government is willing to do this to their own closest ally, neighbor, and friend, everyone is vulnerable”
Trump is ensuring that America’s democratic allies fear us, but that doesn’t engender respect or trust. America’s safety and prosperity depends on the willing support of our allies.
Authoritarian regimes require convenient scapegoats and vulnerable enemies to bully as a show of strength. However, Canada is heeding the lessons Superman learned from his adoptive father: “The strong have to stand up for the weak and … bullies don’t like being bullied back.”
Calling Trump’s trade war “very dumb,” Trudeau immediately announced 25 percent reciprocal tariffs on U.S. products. An even feistier Ontario Premier Doug Ford declared, “Canada didn't start this fight with the US, but you better believe we're ready to win it.” Ford imposed his own 25 percent surcharge on Canadian electricity exports to three US states: Michigan, New York and Minnesota. He’s willing to cut off access to Canadian electricity entirely if Trump escalates matters. This would directly affect about 1.5 million Americans.
Canada is also the top source of U.S. tourism. More than 20 million Canadians visit the U.S. each year, and they spend an estimated $20.5 billion and support 140,000 U.S. jobs. Just a 10 percent reduction in Canadian travel could result in a loss of $2.1 billion in spending and 14,000 jobs.
Canadians are also more likely to avoid “red” states, choosing Disneyland over Disney World, and non-MAGA Americans might actively spend their tourism dollars in Canada rather than Florida. A summer trip to Vancouver or Montreal is my kind of protest! You can even satisfy your Texas barbecue craving in Toronto. (Watch below.)
Trump is throwing rocks at neighbors’ windows and calling it an economic plan. The markets are currently in turmoil and likely to remain so. A “very dumb” trade war is not good for the price of eggs.
When Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade asked Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent if prices would go up, Bessent replied with the absurdly euphemistic, “There's going to be a transition period.” So, yes, prices will go up. Trump promised to magically lower prices, and once he was elected, he’s raising them. As Harry Burns said, he “went the other way.”
The MAGA cult includes the same people who refused to wear masks to slow the spread of COVID. They protest any policies that address climate change, even as American cities burn. Yet they’ll boldly soldier through actual material loss if they think it’ll keep their enemies and what remains of their friends in line. That level of pettiness seems almost farcical, but it’s our current reality.
None of this had to happen. Inflation during the Biden years was the direct result of the economy recovering from the pandemic. What we’re experiencing now is all due to Trump’s ego-driven stupidity. But he’s just one horrible man. He would’ve never regained power again without the willing assistance of almost half the nation. This madness is theirs and we’re all condemned to endure it.
Let's not forget...deliberately crashing the economy is important to a number of the supporters of this maladministration. It not only causes pain presumably to the minorities they hate (at least so they think) but it also allows the wealthy to buy up assets cheap from desperate people. Remember, any time an American suffers is a good opportunity or profit and/or control.
This is also a favorite thing Americans love to do: give Republicans many years to destroy things, then give Democrats two, maybe sometimes four years to reverse generational damage.
This sort of thing was unthinkable to me as a kid. But alas this kind of thing happens because people prioritize their privilege, prejudices and yes...sometimes Internet clout. And in the end, this whole omnishambles is going to be swept under the rug in two years because Democrats need to be perfect...Republicans only need excuses.
My advice to Canada is to seek membership in the EU (Mexico too). The USCMA (basically NAFTA under Trump rebranding) is dead because we are not a stable or honorable trading partner. We are a nation of dishonor, no longer willing to honor any commitments or stick to any agreements. Accept it, you must function in a world without us.
And when Trump reverses course on this, tell him no deal unless he publicly admits he’s backing down. Otherwise he keeps playing this game (and your own voters will blame you for backing down if that’s how it’s framed). There will be pain but it’s inevitable now. And don’t worry about harming us anti-Trump Americans—we don’t blame you, we know who did this, and we all have to feel this if we are to do anything about it.
And know that Trump just made millions of us prouder of Canada than any Canadian ever could. You’re already standing up to him more than our own institutions ever did.