One of Canada’s leading right-wing politicians was taken aback by Donald Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on America’s northern neighbor.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford, a member of Canada’s Conservative Party, said to the press Tuesday that Trump’s threat to impose 25 percent tariffs on Canadian goods entering the United States is “like a family member stabbing you right in the heart.”

“It’s the biggest threat we’ve ever seen.… It’s unfortunate, it’s very, very hurtful to Canadians and Americans on both sides,” Ford said.

Like Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Tuesday, Ford said that Canada would have “no choice” but to retaliate with tariffs of its own, pointing out that such a move would hurt the $500 billion in annual trade between the United States and the province of Ontario, as well as the country’s entire economy. Trump attacked Canada, Mexico, and China in Truth Social posts on Monday, accusing the North American countries of not doing enough to restrict migrants and drugs from crossing U.S. borders.

If the province of Ontario was a country, it would be America’s third-largest trading partner, serving as the top destination for exports for 17 states, and the second-largest for 11 others, so Ford is understandably worried. But right-wing politicians have a lot in common, and Ford said he heard the president-elect’s border comments “loud and clear.”

“The threat is serious. We need to do better on our borders. We need to give resources to [the Canada Border Services Agency],” he said, but pointed out that drugs, guns, and migrants arrive in Canada from the United States. “We have to tighten our borders on both sides.”

Ford has also attacked Mexico in recent weeks, proposing a new trade deal between Canada and the U.S. that would exclude Mexico, and seemed particularly upset that Trump would lump the two countries together.

“I want to emphasize, to compare us to Mexico is the most insulting thing I have ever heard from our friends and closest allies, the United States of America,” Ford said.

The leader of the Conservatives, Pierre Poilievre, has often been compared to Trump, insulting his opponents and the media. But that didn’t stop him from criticizing Trump as well, calling the proposed tariff “an unjustified threat.”

“Our economy is teetering on the brink of collapse, and now we face this renewed threat,” Poilievre said. “We need a plan to put Canada first.”

A cadre of progressive Democrats is urging President Biden to change federal marijuana laws before his lame-duck presidency ends.

Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ron Wyden, as well as Representatives Ilhan Omar, Barbara Lee, and Earl Blumenauer all helped write a letter to Biden on Tuesday asking him to deschedule marijuana and restrict federal marijuana prosecutions before his term ends.

The letter, also signed by Senator Bernie Sanders, Cory Booker, and others, notes that the mere descheduling of marijuana “will not end federal criminalization, resolve its harms, or meaningfully address the gap between federal and state cannabis policy. Possession and use of recreational marijuana—and much state-legal medical marijuana—will continue to be a violation of federal law.”

Marijuana deregulation has been caught in limbo for some time now. While many progressive Democrats have pushed for full decriminalization of the popular recreational and medicinal drug, the letter asked Biden to reschedule the drug from Schedule 1—where heroin is at—to Schedule 3 alongside ketamine.

And while Biden’s 2022 federal marijuana conviction pardons were notable, the letter points out that at least 3,000 people are still locked up. The letter also points out that “of the almost 700,000 drug possession arrests each year, one-third are for marijuana possession, and Black Americans are almost four times more likely than white Americans to be arrested for marijuana possession.”

This letter comes as confusion arises regarding where exactly the Trump administration stands on marijuana. People like Health and Human Services secretary nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are extremely pro-weed, while people like attorney general nominee Pam Bondi and Food and Drug Administration nominee Marty Makary are much less open-minded.

Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon threatened MAGA’s perceived foes with “the long arm of the law” on a recent episode of his podcast War Room.

The MAGA fixture was released from prison last month after a four-month sentence for refusing to comply with a subpoena from the House Select Committee to Investigate January 6. Now, in the wake of Donald Trump’s election, Bannon is naming Democratic and Republican figures who he hopes will find themselves in the new administration’s crosshairs.

“I want these judges to understand, you’re not going to hide behind your cloaks,” Bannon said in Monday’s episode. “We’re coming for you too. You are corrupt. What you allowed to happen in that D.C.........

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