President-elect Donald Trump lobbed some late-night digs at Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, referring to Canada as a “Great State” and addressing Trudeau as “Governor.”
“It was a pleasure to have dinner the other night with Governor Justin Trudeau of the Great State of Canada,” Trump posted to Truth Social at 12:06 a.m. Tuesday. “I look forward to seeing the Governor again soon so that we may continue our in depth talks on Tariffs and Trade, the results of which will be truly spectacular for all! DJT.”
Trump’s comments come as he plans to impose a 25 percent tariff on Canada and Mexico, which Trudeau has said would “be devastating for the Canadian economy” and at which he’s “still looking at the right ways to respond” to.
The Canadian prime minister has also emphasized the impact such tariffs would have on the U.S., saying Trump would “be raising prices for American citizens as well, and hurting American industry and businesses.” The two leaders recently had dinner at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club.
Asked on Tuesday if Trump is trolling Canada, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said the Canadian government is “absolutely determined to defend the national interest.”
“Our principle during the NAFTA negotiations was that we did not escalate and that we also did not back down,” Freeland said. “I think that is a very Canadian approach, and it’s an approach that works.”
Following the dinner between Trump and Trudeau, where Trump reportedly made a joke about Canadian statehood, Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc told reporters that they knew “the conversation was going to be lighthearted” and that “the president was teasing us.”
“It wasn’t a meeting in a boardroom with 10 bureaucrats keeping notes,” LeBlanc, who was at the dinner, said last week. “It was a social evening, and there were moments where it was entertaining and funny, and there were moments where we were able to do, we think, some good work for Canada.”
Trump and Trudeau two have had a fraught relationship. Trump has previously called Trudeau “two-faced” and a “far-left lunatic,” and he slapped tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum during his first term.
Trudeau’s office declined to comment Tuesday morning on the president-elect’s overnight insults, as did the U.S. Embassy in Canada. The Canadian Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Mickey Djuric and Ari Hawkins contributed to this report.
