Cold War? Trump, Trudeau Take Pointed Shots After G7 Summit
For the first time in modern history the United States and Canada are starting to position themselves as each other’s enemies following the G7 summit.
The day after President Trump headed to Singapore to begin preparations for his summit with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow appeared on CNN’s “State of the Union” and laced into Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
“He really kind of stabbed us in the back. He really, actually, you know: he did a great disservice to the whole G-7. He betrayed,” Kudlow said of Trudeau. “He went rogue.”
“You just don’t behave that way. It’s a betrayal. Essentially double-crossing,” Kudlow said of Trudeau’s statement that he made after President Trump left the G7 summit.
President Trump “is not gonna let a Canadian prime minister push him around,” he said “He is not going to permit any show of weakness on a trip to negotiate with North Korea.”
“He can’t put Trump in a position of being weak going into the North Korean talks. He can’t do that. And by the way, President Trump is not weak,” Kudlow said. “Kim must not see American weakness. It’s that short.”
Director of the White House National Trade Council Peter Navarro agreed with Kudlow’s assessment.
“There’s a special place in hell for any foreign leader that engages in bad faith diplomacy with President Donald J. Trump and then tries to stab him in the back on the way out the door,” Navarro said on “Fox News Sunday. “That’s what bad faith Justin Trudeau did with that stunt press conference.”
“To my friends in Canada, that was one of the worst political miscalculations of a Canadian leader in modern Canadian history,” he said.
“Canadians are polite, we’re reasonable but we also will not be pushed around,” Trudeau said after President Trump left the summit.
That statement enraged the president who took to Twitter to fire back.
“Based on Justin’s false statements at his news conference, and the fact that Canada is charging massive Tariffs to our U.S. farmers, workers and companies, I have instructed our U.S. Reps not to endorse the Communique as we look at Tariffs on automobiles flooding the U.S. Market!” the president wrote.
Based on Justin’s false statements at his news conference, and the fact that Canada is charging massive Tariffs to our U.S. farmers, workers and companies, I have instructed our U.S. Reps not to endorse the Communique as we look at Tariffs on automobiles flooding the U.S. Market!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 9, 2018
“PM Justin Trudeau of Canada acted so meek and mild during our @G7 meetings only to give a news conference after I left saying that, ‘US Tariffs were kind of insulting’ and he ‘will not be pushed around.’ Very dishonest & weak. Our Tariffs are in response to his of 270% on dairy!” he said.
PM Justin Trudeau of Canada acted so meek and mild during our @G7 meetings only to give a news conference after I left saying that, “US Tariffs were kind of insulting” and he “will not be pushed around.” Very dishonest & weak. Our Tariffs are in response to his of 270% on dairy!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 9, 2018
Attention will now move to North Korea, but the issue with Canada will linger and it will have to be dealt with when President Trump returns from Singapore. The question is who will blink first?