President Donald Trump terminated all trade negotiations with Canada on Thursday after discovering that conservative icon Ronald Reagan once said words that contradict Trump's current economic policy.
The advertisement in question, funded by the Ontario government and set to air during this weekend's World Series games, features actual clips from Reagan's April 1987 radio address. In the speech, Reagan warns that tariffs "hurt every American worker and consumer" and cause "markets to shrink and collapse."
Trump responded to these authentic Reagan quotes by posting on Truth Social that "CANADA CHEATED AND GOT CAUGHT!!!" and claiming Reagan "LOVED TARIFFS FOR OUR COUNTRY." The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation, tasked with preserving Reagan's legacy, courageously backed Trump's version of history by suggesting the ad misrepresents Reagan—despite the clips being verbatim from Reagan's speech, which the foundation itself has posted on YouTube.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced Friday he would pause the advertisement campaign on Monday, but only after it airs during the first two World Series games featuring the Toronto Blue Jays. "We've achieved our goal, having reached U.S. audiences at the highest levels," Ford stated.
The international incident represents a significant foreign policy achievement for the Trump administration, successfully replacing trade negotiations with America's largest trading partner with a presidential temper tantrum over a TV commercial. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer noted that Americans "cannot afford Donald Trump's price-spiking tariff temper tantrums," apparently unaware that Americans have been affording exactly that since July when Trump imposed 35% tariffs on Canadian goods.
The Reagan Foundation encouraged Americans to watch Reagan's full speech to understand the proper context, presumably the context in which Reagan's anti-tariff warnings somehow actually mean he loved tariffs. Meanwhile, Canada has begun pursuing trade deals with China, because "America First" means pushing your closest ally into your biggest rival's economic sphere.
