You can reduce many of Donald Trump's words and actions as president of the United States to his pursuit of two objectives: to project personal strength and to direct the public's attention to where he wants it. Trump's fury toward Canada for an ad critical of his tariffs can be attributed to his failure to appear strong or to effectively dictate what people pay attention to.
The advertisement, funded by the Canadian province of Ontario, features audio of former President Ronald Reagan who says that "over the long run, such trade barriers hurt every American worker and consumer," and that "the way to prosperity for all nations is rejecting protectionist legislation and promoting fair and free competition."
On Truth Social on Thursday, Trump falsely described the advertisement as "FAKE" and declared "ALL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WITH CANADA ARE HEREBY TERMINATED." Much to the president's vexation however, the ad nonetheless aired on televisions across the U.S. during Friday's World Series matchup between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Los Angeles Dodgers. The next day, Trump once again took to social media to announce his retaliation: a 10% increase on tariffs on Canadian imports. But not even that stopped the ad from airing twice more. It was finally pulled on Monday.
Ontario's advertisement triggered anger from Trump because it exposed the flawed thinking behind his push for tariffs for his own constituents to see. Reagan is the president Republicans have had the most reverence for — at least before Trump. Thus, quoting him is a way for Ontario to say that it's not alone in opposing tariffs.
This is a preview of Alexander Puri's latest column. Read the full column here.
