President Donald Trump took more swipes at Canada and its prime minister over trade issues as he settled in for a multiday summit with North Korea in Singapore, contending that “Fair Trade is now to be called Fool Trade if it is not Reciprocal.”
Mr. Trump roiled the Group of Seven meeting in Canada by first agreeing to a group statement on trade only to withdraw from it while complaining that he had been blindsided by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s criticism of Trump’s tariff threats at a summit-ending news conference. As he flew from Canada to Singapore Saturday night, Mr. Trump displayed his ire via Twitter, which he also employed to insult Mr. Trudeau as “dishonest” and “weak.”
The attack on a longtime ally and its leader drew sharp criticism. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who also attended the summit, told German public television that she found Mr. Trump’s tweet disavowing the G-7 statement “sobering” and “a little depressing.” Ms. Merkel also said the European Union would “act” against the U.S. trade measures.
Unbowed, Mr. Trump tweeted anew on Monday morning from Singapore- “Fair Trade is now to be called Fool Trade if it is not Reciprocal. According to a Canada release, they make almost 100 Billion Dollars in Trade with U.S. (guess they were bragging and got caught!). Minimum is 17B. Tax Dairy from us at 270%. Then Justin acts hurt when called out!”
And he brought in Merkel’s government- ....Germany pays 1% (slowly) of GDP towards NATO, while we pay 4% of a MUCH larger GDP. Does anybody believe that makes sense? We protect Europe (which is good) at great financial loss, and then get unfairly clobbered on Trade. Change is coming!”
Earlier, the White House escalated the initial tirade and leveled more withering and unprecedented criticism against Trudeau, branding him a back-stabber unworthy of Trump’s time.
Bad faith
“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,” Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro said in an interview nationally broadcast Sunday in the United States.
Canada’s foreign minister, Chrystia Freeland, said her country “does not conduct its diplomacy through ad hominem attacks.”
The verbal volleys by Navarro and Trump’s top economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, picked up where Trump had left off Saturday evening. Kudlow suggested Trump saw Trudeau as trying to weaken his hand before that meeting, saying the president won’t “let a Canadian prime minister push him around. ... Kim must not see American weakness.”
Mr. Trudeau, who had said at the news conference that Canada would retaliate for new U.S. tariffs, didn’t respond to questions about Mr. Trump when the prime minister arrived at a Quebec City hotel Sunday for meetings with other world leaders. Ms. Freeland later told reporters that “we don’t think that’s a useful or productive way to do business.”
A Trudeau spokesman, Cameron Ahmad, said on Saturday night that Mr. Trudeau “said nothing he hasn’t said before both in public and in private conversations” with Trump.
And Roland Paris, a former foreign policy adviser to Mr. Trudeau, jabbed at Mr. Trump on Twitter- “Big tough guy once he’s back on his airplane. Can’t do it in person. ... He’s a pathetic little man-child.”
Mr. Trudeau said he had reiterated to Mr. Trump, who left the G-7 meeting before it ended, that tariffs would harm industries and workers on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border. Mr. Trudeau told reporters that imposing retaliatory measures “is not something I relish doing” but that he wouldn’t hesitate to do so because “I will always protect Canadian workers and Canadian interests.”
Mr. Navarro, the Trump trade adviser, said his harsh assessment of what “bad faith” Mr. Trudeau did with “that stunt press conference” on Saturday “comes right from Air Force One.”
Stabbed us in the back
Mr. Kudlow, in a separate TV appearance, said Mr. Trudeau was “polarizing” and “really kind of stabbed us in the back.” The Canadian leader pulled a “sophomoric political stunt for domestic consumption,” Mr. Kudlow said, that amounted to “a betrayal.”
“Don’t blame Mr. Trump. It was Mr. Trudeau who started blasting Mr. Trump after he left, after the deals had been made.” Mr.Kudlow said Mr. Trump won’t let people “take pot shots at him” and that Mr. Trudeau “should’ve known better.”
But the criticism left a former Canadian prime minister, Stephen Harper, stumped. “I don’t understand the obsession with trade relations with Canada,” he said, given that Canada is the biggest single buyer of American goods and services in the world. From promoting democracy and to fighting terrorism, “we’re on the same page. We’re the closest partners in the world and you don’t want to see a dispute over one particular issue poison everything.”
Mr. Trudeau had said Canadians “are polite, we’re reasonable, but also we will not be pushed around.” He described all seven leaders coming together to sign the joint declaration despite having “some strong, firm conversations on trade, and specifically on American tariffs.”
In the air by then, Mr. Trump tweeted- “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!”
Mr. Navarro appeared on “Fox News Sunday,” and Mr. Kudlow was on CNN’s “State of the Union” and CBS’ “Face the Nation” and Harper spoke on Fox’s “Sunday Morning Futures.”
