United States President Donald Trump has escalated his war of words with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, hinting at rocky negotiations as Canada seeks to deescalate a growing trade war.
On Wednesday, Trump turned to his social media platform Truth Social to give his version of a midday phone call he held with Trudeau.
“The call ended in a ‘somewhat’ friendly manner,” Trump said, without offering specifics.
The Republican leader did, however, accuse Trudeau of doing too little to address fentanyl trafficking, an issue experts say is of minor concern along the Canadian border.
Trump also openly questioned Trudeau’s role in Canada’s upcoming federal election, attempting to raise questions about his government’s legitimacy, as he has with other world leaders.
The high-level negotiations come one day after Trump imposed 25-percent tariffs on products from both Canada and Mexico, the US’s two largest trading partners, not to mention its neighbours.
Those high tariffs had been looming over the two countries for some time.
Shortly after winning the presidency in November, Trump announced he planned to leverage the 25-percent tariffs to force Canada and Mexico to tighten their borders.
He also mentioned that Canada could avoid such staggering tariffs by ceding its sovereignty and becoming the 51st state in the US.
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