Donald Trump mocked Justin Trudeau and Canada after the Canadian prime minister pointed out that Americans are realizing how expensive life would be under Trump’s proposed tariffs.
“Trump got elected on a commitment to make life better and more affordable for Americans, and I think people south of the border are beginning to wake up to the real reality that tariffs on everything from Canada would make life a lot more expensive,” Trudeau said in a speech on Monday, promising retaliation if Trump went ahead with his planned tariffs.
In response, Trump made a Truth Social post shortly after midnight Tuesday referencing his recent dinner with Trudeau and yet again joked about Canada being part of the United States.
“It was a pleasure to have dinner the other night with Governor Justin Trudeau of the Great State of Canada. 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,” the post read.
Canada is America’s biggest trading partner, and while 25 percent tariffs on Canadian imports would hurt their economy, retaliatory tariffs wouldn’t be good for the U.S. economy, either. Trudeau pointed out that the U.S. gets 65 percent of its crude oil from Canada, along with many other goods, ranging from steel to agricultural products.
Over the weekend, Trump tried to defend his tariff plan on NBC’s Meet the Press but couldn’t promise that it wouldn’t cause higher prices for Americans. He claimed that the U.S. was “subsidizing” Canada and Mexico, and offered a nonsensical solution.
“If we’re going to subsidize them, let them become a state. We’re subsidizing Mexico, and we’re subsidizing Canada, and we’re subsidizing many countries all over the world,” Trump said. “And all I want to do is I want to have a level, fast, but fair playing field.”
Realistically, Trudeau is right that tariffs would hurt both the U.S. and Canadian economies, and it’s hard to see any positive outcomes from a back-and-forth trade war. Trump may be able to threaten politicians in the states, but he might find that foreign leaders aren’t cowed by his brash rhetoric. Mexico has already made threats of its own in response to Trump’s tariffs, for example.
If Canadian and Mexican leaders acted like Trump, it would be “Canada First” versus “Mexico First” versus “America First,” and the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which Trump negotiated to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement during his first term, would end up torn to shreds. If Trump isn’t careful, that is exactly what will end up happening, to the detriment of all three countries’ economies.
Law firms won’t touch former New York City mayor and disbarred attorney Rudy Giuliani’s legal problems with a 10-foot pole.
In court documents submitted Monday, the Donald Trump ally lamented that he can’t find a lawyer to represent him while he faces the possibility of civil contempt charges brought by Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, a pair of 2020 Georgia poll workers to whom he owes nearly $150 million after he repeatedly defamed them while pushing Trump’s Georgia election conspiracy.
“As I have previously indicated, the primary reason for this requested extension is that I need more time to find an attorney to represent me in this matter, especially now that Plaintiffs are making allegations seeking civil contempt,” Giuliani wrote.
The lack of legal interest, according to Giuliani, is all thanks to U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell’s treatment of January 6 defendants—and has nothing to do with his reported failure to pay his previous attorneys, or with court reports that the 80-year-old is “losing it.”
“We have spoken to four attorneys and each attorney has declined to handle this matter because they believe Your Honor is unreasonable and biased about Trump-related matters and ‘ideological rather than logical,’” Giuliani wrote. “One said it was ‘a foregone conclusion’ and ‘a no-win proposition.’ Among other numerous reasons, your handling of the J6 cases is considered by many to be the most unnecessarily harsh.”
Howell, meanwhile, isn’t even remotely the toughest judge who has sentenced January 6 defendants. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, for instance—who was slated to oversee Trump’s January 6 case before it crashed and burned in the wake of his election win—issued several sentences for the Trumpian rioters that were harsher than what Justice Department prosecutors recommended.
Giuliani’s previous legal representation ditched him last month, declaring in a motion in federal court that they had reached a “fundamental disagreement” with Giuliani. The disgraced New York politico’s lead counsel Kenneth Caruso and attorney David Labkowski argued that they were entitled to peel away from their client, citing a New York rule that grants attorneys the ability to withdraw when a client “insists upon taking action with which the lawyer has a fundamental disagreement,” when the client insists on “presenting a claim or defense that is not warranted under existing law and cannot be supported by good faith argument,” or when “the client fails to cooperate in the representation or otherwise renders the representation unreasonably difficult for the lawyer to carry out employment effectively.”
Even Fox News isn’t accepting MAGA Republicans’ attempts to discredit accusations against Pete Hegseth........