Trudeau’s Relationship With Trump Is Now a Fine Mess
“To the extent that this 51st state thing was a joke, it’s not funny. … We have to be very careful with the President-elect and we have to pull together.”
Three weeks after his sweeping victory, President-elect Donald Trump took to Truth Social to threaten Canada, Mexico, and China with 25% trade tariffs until they get serious about stopping the flow of fentanyl and illegal immigrants into the U.S. He wrote:
As everyone is aware, thousands of people are pouring through Mexico and Canada, bringing Crime and Drugs at levels never seen before. Right now a Caravan coming from Mexico, composed of thousands of people, seems to be unstoppable in its quest to come through our currently Open Border.
On January 20th, as one of my many first Executive Orders, I will sign all necessary documents to charge Mexico and Canada a 25% Tariff on ALL products coming into the United States, and its ridiculous Open Borders.
This Tariff will remain in effect until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country! Both Mexico and Canada have the absolute right and power to easily solve this long simmering problem. We hereby demand that they use this power, and until such time that they do, it is time for them to pay a very big price!
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called Trump that night. Asked about the call by reporters, Trudeau said that while there was work to be done, he felt confident that he and the incoming U.S. president could resolve their differences.
Trudeau appears shaken and admits having called Trump last night to try to mend relations after Trump threatened a 25% tariff on Canada until they address illegals from there invading the US.
Trump hasn’t been sworn in yet and is accomplishing this.pic.twitter.com/8dYd2SmTQX
— Paul A. Szypula 🇺🇸 (@Bubblebathgirl) November 26, 2024
Evidently, their differences were worse than Trudeau had let on, because three days later, the prime minister made an impromptu trip down to Mar-a-Lago to meet with Trump face-to-face.
Trudeau is there to bend the knee.
— Red Alert Florida (@RedAlertFlorida) November 29, 2024
MAR-A-LAGO: In a stunning showcase of hypocrisy and low frequency thinking, climate change bedwetter Justin Trudeau arrives to his meeting with Donald Trump via a presidential-sized motorcade of gas-guzzling SUVs. pic.twitter.com/EvdWjLntT9
— Alex Zoltan (@AmazingZoltan) November 30, 2024
Although the meeting between the two leaders didn’t produce any firm agreements, they appeared to be getting on very well.
JUSTIN TRUDEAU ALL SMILES AT MAR LAGO WITH TRUMP. pic.twitter.com/ys6aTOQuAw
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) November 30, 2024
Two people seated at the table told Fox News’ Peter Doocy that when Trudeau said the new tariffs would kill the Canadian economy, Trump joked that if Canada can’t survive without ripping off the U.S. to the tune of $100 billion a year, maybe Canada should become the 51st state, and Trudeau could become its governor!
This exchange became the biggest takeaway from the trip on both sides of the border.
Justin Trudeau: "New tariffs will kill the Canadian economy."
Donald Trump: "Well, maybe Canada should become the 51st state, and you can be its governor!"
— KanekoaTheGreat (@KanekoaTheGreat) December 3, 2024
Upon Trudeau’s return to Canada, he was widely criticized by the press for appearing subordinate to Trump. The Western Standard called the trip “a waste of time and fuel” and “a mission without a win.” Trudeau was “trying to out-Trump Donald Trump,” the report said.
… There was no joint statement or announcement of an agreement. There were promises to continue discussions, which does not constitute a victory. … But showing that Trump was not mean to him is hardly a diplomatic victory.
Trump provided Trudeau with opportunities for photo sessions without conceding anything or making any promises. He maintained his firm demand that Canada strengthen its border security to prevent drugs and potential terrorists from crossing freely. Trump takes satisfaction in the fact that a man he despises travelled to plead with him for leniency regarding his tariff threats. He is fully aware of this dynamic.
Prime Minister Trudeau may portray himself as someone who understands Trump well, but Trump holds the upper hand. He knows Trudeau is “weak” and desperately desires to maintain himself in power, despite his low popularity. Furthermore, Trump understands that Trudeau is willing to make significant political sacrifices to achieve a seemingly favourable resolution to the border issues. Trudeau badly needs a win, and Trump knows that Trudeau is willing to jeopardize his country’s economy to win. Consequently, Trump will likely capitalize on Trudeau’s vulnerabilities for all they are worth.
Trudeau responded to the media’s disapproval by acting tough and making disparaging remarks about Trump to the Canadian press. According to Bloomberg, the prime minister said, Canada will “respond to unfair tariffs in a number of ways, and we’re still looking at the right ways to respond, but our responses to the unfair steel and aluminum tariffs were what ended up lifting those tariffs last time.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada “will respond” if US President-elect Donald Trump imposes new tariffs on Canadian imports https://t.co/lJe2c9XB0f
— Bloomberg (@business) December 9, 2024
Hot Air’s David Strom, who supplied the following clips of Trudeau as “he primped and preened before the Halifax Chamber of Commerce [on Monday], taking swipes at Trump,” wrote, “Trudeau’s ego is as large as his testosterone levels are low, so to compensate, he talks big, insults Trump, and gets blowback that he richly deserves.”
Canada's National Embarrassment, Justin Trudeau, tells the Chamber of Commerce that we can "punch back" on Trump's 25% tariffs on Canadian exports by putting our own tariffs on things like Bourbon, Harley-Davidsons, playing cards, Heinz ketchup and cherries.
Dear Lord, an… pic.twitter.com/S7KI25ixOv
— Bret 🍁 (@Bret_Sears) December 9, 2024
Justin Trudeau insinuates that Trump is the result of ignorant Americans and urges Canadians to not vote in a similar way.
This guy is literal poison to everything. No need to secure our border, we'll just torch it. pic.twitter.com/vvFacAO0YK
— Jason James (@jasonjamesbnn) December 10, 2024
The war of words between the two spilled into Tuesday with Trump hilariously referring to Trudeau as “the Gov.”
The chef’s kiss came to us courtesy of the humorless Canadian Green Party leader Elizabeth Evans May, who was actually quite amusing without meaning to be during a Tuesday press conference. May said she is becoming “increasingly nervous” about Trump’s jokes. She was asked by a reporter about the following Truth Social post from Trump.
🚨 Trump TROLLS Trudeau calling him Governor of the Great State of Canada 🤣 pic.twitter.com/5HDE6OtmCK
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) December 10, 2024
And she replied:
To the extent that this 51st state thing was a joke, it’s not funny. And I find that pursuing it on social media makes me increasingly nervous. … We have to be very careful with the President-elect and we have to pull together, I think all opposition party leaders and premiers, all elements of the Canadian establishment such as we are, better pull together to make sure that we don’t create any cracks that allow Fox News or Mr. Trump’s social media to exploit us and say things about Canada that aren’t true.
HAHAHAHA the leader of the Canadian Green Party says she is "increasingly nervous" about President Trump's jokes about Canada as the 51st state:
"To the extent that this was a joke, it's not funny."pic.twitter.com/8I6E90ZpFj
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) December 10, 2024
If only May were as nervous about other foreign countries as she is about the U.S.
Hamas: good.
Trump: bad.
Same Canadian Green Party lady. pic.twitter.com/3bbSMsJZpU
— 5th Gen AZ Family (@bullfrog35) December 10, 2024
Elizabeth writes commentary for The Washington Examiner. She is an academy fellow at The Heritage Foundation and a member of the Editorial Board at The Sixteenth Council, a London think tank. Please follow Elizabeth on X or LinkedIn.
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Comments
Trudy needs to resign in embarassment, but is wholly incapable of understanding the concept of shame.
No he doesn’t. He is going to kill the party. Keep him in. The label Governor is going to haunt him. With a few choice words he can MCGA. With what he did to the truckers, if Trump can leverage the government over reach here, it will ignite them over there. The Streisand effect of the Bud Light Governor Trudeau, just wait, it is coming.
First photo,
“Now, Miss Prissy, always remember that when seated, you must keep your legs together.”
Those without a sense of humour, predominantly leftists, will not find the Governor of America’s 51’st State joke funny…while anyone else capable of rubbing two or more functioning braincells together find that joke as funny as f8ck 🤣🤣
The first reference to Canada becoming the 51st state was funny.
The constant reference to Trudeau as “the Gov” is not funny.
Trudeau is a mess and there is a lot of push back against him and his policies. Constant referral to a sovereign country as a “US State” with the Prime Minister as “the Gov” insults all Canadians.
It’s not funny.
It’s insulting without supporting or furthering the end goal of helping with the border.
Furthermore, it has given Trudeau the ability to deflect from his disastrous policies. Instead of addressing what he is doing, he can now say “we as a country are being insulted by Trump. They tried invading twice before and Canadians as one repelled their efforts.”
You end up with a united Canada against the US rather than support against Trudeau.
And that is not funny.
Boy howdy are you missing it.
Trump has read Saul Alinksy’s rules for radicals carefully. Rule #5: “Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon. There is no defense.”
Trudeau is defenseless and looks ridiculous. Ms. May looks like a prudish schoolmarm defending him. Trump isn’t invading, he’s pointing out (in his own inimitable style) that Trudeau is a soy-boy who shouldn’t be taken seriously.
And it’s working.
Trump is insulting another country’s leader and whether or not he is popular is not a good policy. I thought he had learned a little the last time about insulting people for no gain but it appears he hasn’t. Trudeau is a jerk and a lousy leader but that is exactly why Trump doesn’t need to rub it in. Canadians are our northern border and we need them to be our friends, not enemies.
Given the prime minister’s flagging popularity and possible lame duck status poking this particular moose (instead of a bear, it’s more Canadian) may actually make Trump more popular in Canada.
It’s the other side of the coin to all the world leaders making nice to Trump before Biden even leaves.
Insulting the leader of a communist dictatorship…. fine.
Canadians too have a funny bone and right now they could use a laugh. Trey Parker and Bob and Doug McKenzie haven’t start a war, I doubt that the Donald having a little fun at that gentleman’s expense is going to. I’m left to wonder if Donald Trump could be elected in Canada too?
No sir, you are missing it.
One of the tenants in life is to “respect the office, not the man.”
Trump is basically insulting the office of Prime Minister in a country.
If you think that is good policy and doesn’t make Trump look petty, childish and silly by this school yard taunt, there is nothing to be discussed.
The initial joke was funny.
The reference to the Prime Minister as a “Gov,” is not funny.
By the way, nothing makes a person want to work with you more than insulting them. If Trump wants to attack the policies of Trudeau, that’s fine. If you want Trudeau to work with Trump, he needs to dial back the personal attacks. Otherwise, Trump becomes the very caricature that the left thinks he is.
When the person holding the office belittles and sullies that office – he’s fair game. Kinda like Biden.
My step son is Canadian and lives in Alberta , he thinks its hilarious, he also wishes it were true…
a few years ago there was an attempt to separate Canada into 2 countries, I remember the vote, but i don’t remember what year it was in… Anyway the biggest take away was that as soon as the election was published, 3/4 of the Canadian provinces announced that they were going to succeeded and ask for U.S. statehood.
In this case I feel Trump is sort of kidding on the square.
If we were talking serious about statehood, Canada would certainly be more than one state. As a (I hope proud) Canadian how would you theoretically split it into multiple states to best empower the new US citizens?
And how would your monarchy status affect such a (peaceful) process?
Sorry, he, not you, your son in law…
By provinces, they already have a near complete state government administrative structure.
If by current provinces, then any of you Americans on The Left should pray for a merger, isn’t Canada much more lefty than righty?
As I said, anyone capable of thinking for themselves finds this funny as f99k 🤣🤣
Canada is dying. Quality of life is declining. Canada is not what it was in decades past and is now one of the most authoritarian of the “Commonwealth(less)”. Do not forget that the press in Britain in the ’60’s were complaining that GB was about to be the 51st state with QEII having tea with Gov Wallace (the wife). Biden crushed truckers in US sympathetic to the truckers in Canada at the request of Justina Castreau. The US is unnecessarily in decline but Canada is in free fall.
Canada has been referred to as the 51st state and America’s Little Brother for decades. The Canadians never liked it, but there wasn’t too much they could do about it, because:
1. It’s basically true
2. Canada is too weak, both economically and militarily, to either do anything about it or improve their position on the world stage.
That’s like saying don’t make fun of Americans for electing Sleepy Joe or Germans for Hitler. A nation gets leadership reflecting it’s people and laughter is better than tears. The Canadians are just gonna have to suck this one up. Hopefully, like Americans they’ll wise up and make better choices in the future. Until then I’m with Kyle’s Mom – Blame Canada!
I think Trudeau is stupid enough to believe that he can keep the border open, and then blame everything that he’s screwed up in Canada on Trumps tariffs.
He’s admitted he KNOWS it will crush the Canadian economy, he just thinks he can deflect the blame.
Fine with me. Crush their economy.
You screw us, we will screw you right back.
We make up well more than half of Canadian foreign trade. Our sales TO Canada are a very small portion of our FT. If a tariff trade war happened, Canada would NOT be in A Good Place.
I’m not denigrating our neighbors to the north here, imho we elected Biden, they elected Trudeau, we both elected sons of political families with delusions of adequacy. But, moving on, is it really so unreasonable to ask a longtime friendly neighbor to cooperate with us on border issues like less-than-legal border crossings and smuggling?
Canadas market protections make our little tariffs a joke.. try selling beef or dairy into Canada.
Even the Mckenzie brothers would see through that aah?
The impression I have is that Trudeau is extremely unpopular with the canadian right. Similar to how timmy walz is extremely unpopular with the Minnesota right.
The entire state outside of the twin cities hates Tim.
Did you say the Minnesota right? You must be talking about when Ted Nugent moves to his other hunting cabin.
Looking at the picture of the meeting Canadians can at least take comfort that Castreau’s mother taught him to keep his knees together while sitting even if she couldn’t get him into a dress. At least in public.
😂😂😂
LOL at the top photo. Justin looks like the covergirl for Miss Priss magazine!
Caption for the top photo: Justin- “I wish I had worn the red tie”.
Trudeau has insulted Trump and Americans for years and has behaved as a dictator. And instead of Trump calling Trudeau a fascist, communist, racist (all of which are true) or something else, he gives Trudeau a light rubbing.
Trudeau can deal with some well earned ridicule.
Many other world “leaders” have also constantly insulted Trump and Americans for years. But they expect Trump to ignore that and be the bigger man or something. Nope.
Sorry Canadian Government lost my respect over the Trucker. Little Castro does not deserve respect. If Canadians want respect for the office, get rid of him with someone that Trump can work with.
JT did not travel to meet Trump because of his threat to levy a tariff in an attempt to move up the renegotiation of the USMCA. Trump has no pressing need to renegotiate that agreement because Canada hardly had any input into that agreement back in Trump’s first term. Obama had assured JT that he need not worry about Trump’s attempt to rescind NAFTA because Pelosi will have his back in the House.
But Trump ignored Canada and went ahead and negotiated the restructuring of NAFTA directly with Mexico. Trump’s team informed Canada if they wanted to make this a trilateral agreement then they would have to agree to our terms. Or, we can go ahead with only Mexico and then work out a separate bilateral agreement with you. But now you wont have the NAFTA provisions or loopholes to give you any leverage.
JT did not expect that – and came in at the last minute and signed on the the agreement to try to salvage something in order to save face. So the 25% tariff Trump is proposing is not a threat to USMCA since Canada had practically zero input into the structuring of that agreement.
JT went on bended knee to Trump because Canada had a weak hand in the USCMA and those chickens came home to roost when Trump won the election.
This is how a superpower should act. If you want peace, prepare for war. Trump is preparing for war (albeit the non-kinetic type so far).
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