Yiannis Damellos
Trump's conflict with Canada is both political and deeply personal. He harbors a strong dislike for Trudeau and feels threatened by him. The reasons for this animosity are straightforward. Trudeau and Canada symbolize everything Trump opposes: free trade, global markets, liberal policies, skepticism towards dictators, a strong social security system, a universal healthcare system, individual rights, respect for the rule of law, and, above all, freedom and liberty.
Trump's recent behavior towards Canada is toxic. He has made it clear that he wants to exert further control over us, using tariffs as a tool to achieve his goals, meaning full annexation. At a deeper level, he is engaging in a game of power. As a member of the Editorial Board of the New York Times wrote today: "President Trump loves tariffs not because he wants to revive American manufacturing, fill the government’s coffers, or truly believes that Canada is pumping fentanyl into the United States. He loves tariffs because he enjoys making people beg." I wholeheartedly agree and would add that he seeks to make countries beg.
Well let me tell you one thing. Despite his many flaws, Trudeau will never beg Trump. To begin with, he is the son of Pierre Trudeau. Secondly, it would be the same as betraying his country if he did so and he knows it. And I don't think that any Canadian would ask him to do this right now. Because we all know that Trump's word means NOTHING.
Secondly, Trump is using Mexico's President to break us. It is evident from all that has happened over the past few days.
Mexico received a tariff exemption; however, Canada was notably excluded from Trump's announcement. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed concerns about the trade measures, stating that his government is considering delaying any retaliatory tariffs on the U.S., but has not dismissed the possibility of keeping them in place. "We will not suspend Canadian tariffs because the Americans made a change yesterday," Trudeau said, adding, "We will not back down from our response tariffs until the unjustified American tariffs on Canadian goods are lifted."
Then, Trump accused Trudeau of using the trade dispute for political leverage. "Believe it or not, despite the terrible job he's done for Canada, I think Justin Trudeau is using the tariff problem, which he has largely caused, to run for Prime Minister again," Trump wrote on Truth Social. That's how scared he is of Trudeau.
One more thing: As a gambler, Trump may ultimately face losses. His tactics with tariffs and his animosity toward Canada are a double-edged sword. In addition to these tensions, he has already sparked conflicts with the stock markets and international markets, while our outgoing Prime Minister has taken a completely different approach.
While Trump is slowly alienating and impoverishing his popular base and all of his traditional allies, Trudeau, on the other hand, is trying to diversify our economy - which has always been dependent on our Southern neighbors - and to make new alliances. He has opened up to the EU, which under these circumstances may be the right decision.
Finally, Trudeau pledged to end Canadian tariffs on US products so long as Trump returns from insanity to sanity. Now, if Trump wants to pick a fight, he chose the wrong adversary, because we will never beg, we will fight back and we will never surrender.
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