On Thursday, Donald Trump announced he would end all trade talks with Canada, effective immediately, over a television ad paid for by one of the country’s provinces and featured former President Ronald Reagan criticizing tariffs.
“High tariffs inevitably lead to retaliation by foreign countries and the triggering of fierce trade wars,” Reagan said in the clip. “Then the worst happens. Markets shrink and collapse. Businesses and industries shut down, and millions of people lose their jobs.”
Criticizing the ad, Trump wrote in a post on his social media website late Thursday, “TARIFFS ARE VERY IMPORTANT TO THE NATIONAL SECURITY, AND ECONOMY, OF THE U.S.A. Based on their egregious behavior, ALL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WITH CANADA ARE HEREBY TERMINATED.”
In a separate post on X, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute accused the province of misrepresenting an April 25, 1987, radio address from the former president, and it encouraged people to listen to the unedited speech on its YouTube channel.
Following the backlash, Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced the province would “pause its U.S. advertising campaign effective Monday,” meaning the ad is still scheduled to play during the first two World Series games over the weekend.
On Friday’s “Morning Joe,” Joe Scarborough told viewers he followed the foundation’s advice. “Around 3:30 this morning, I listened to the entire address,” he said. “And I have absolutely no idea what the Reagan Foundation is talking about, because those words in that Canadian ad were directly from that April 25, 1987, address.”
Scarborough said the ad, in his view, “reflected Reagan’s feelings about tariffs 100%.”
“It’s strange,” added fellow “Morning Joe” co-host Willie Geist. “It’s one thing for President Trump — we’ve come to expect that, to misrepresent things — but for the Reagan Foundation itself to come out kind of in support of that argument, it is odd.” Geist said it’s clear Trump’s “feelings were hurt” over the ad. Co-host Jonathan Lemire agreed, telling the panel that the “current president is so easily triggered that a TV commercial can change international policy, trade policy, foreign policy.” “It’s sort of an extraordinary encapsulation of where things are right now for this administration,” Lemire added. You can watch the “Morning Joe” panel’s full discussion in the clip at the top of the page.
Allison Detzel is an editor/producer for MS NOW.
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