Donald Trump slammed Canada for “playing dirty” over an ad that Ontario decided to suspend on Monday. This followed a row over the United States president’s claim that he had misquoted former president Ronald Reagan as opposing the tariffs, prompting Trump to halt all trade talks with the neighboring country.
“Canada was caught cheating on an ad, can you believe it? And I heard they pulled the ad — I didn’t know they were putting a little bit more. They might have pulled it tonight,” Trump said, according to AFP. When told by a reporter that the ad would be pulled on Monday, he replied: “That’s a dirty game. But I can play dirtier than they can.”
“What they did was terrible. They made a false statement by President Reagan. Reagan was a big supporter of tariffs when they were needed, and we need tariffs for national security. And then they completely turned it around because the tariffs hurt. They used tariffs on us, but we’ve had different presidents there who were very successful in taking a lot of money out of there, our country would not take anything back today,” Trump said in an interview with the press on Russia. He added: “The Reagan Foundation went crazy when they saw it because it was the opposite of what Reagan liked, and he used tariffs when necessary. It made us a very rich country.”
Trump’s “all trade negotiations have been terminated” announcement.
Trump said on Truth Social: “The Ronald Reagan Foundation just announced that Canada fraudulently used an ad that is FAKE in which Ronald Reagan spoke negatively about tariffs. The ad was for $75,000. They only did it to upset the decisions of the US Supreme Court and other courts.”
He claimed: “TARFS ARE VERY IMPORTANT TO US NATIONAL SECURITY AND ECONOMY. Based on their outrageous behavior, ALL TRADE DEALINGS WITH CANADA ARE HEREBY TERMINATED. Thank you for your attention to this matter! DJT President.”
“Ontario suspends advertising campaign to allow business negotiations to resume”
On Friday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced that after speaking with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, the ad campaign would be paused starting Monday “to allow trade talks to resume,” although it will continue to air during the weekend’s MLB World Series games, a CNN report noted.
Speaking to X, Ford said, “Our intent has always been to start a conversation about the kind of economy Americans want to build and the impact of tariffs on workers and businesses. We have accomplished our goal by reaching the American audience at the highest levels. I directed my team to get our message across to Americans over the weekend so that we can air our ad during the first two of its advertising games as part of World Series. I will effectively speak to Prime Minister Carney Pausetario will Monday so that trade talks can resume.”
Meanwhile, according to an ANI report, when reporters asked if he plans to meet Prime Minister Mark Carney, who will also be in Asia, Trump said, “No, I don’t.”
(With input from agencies)
