US-Canada ties hit the ice after Trump threatened to shut Canadian aircraft maker Bombardier
The violent meme, an animated version of the Trump post showing him towering over Carney with the caption “GET UP, GOVERNOR” — a jab tied to his insistence that Canada would be better off as America’s 51st state — outraged many commentators on both sides of the border. The sharp escalation in a trade war between two countries that once prided themselves on having the world’s least dramatic border was accompanied by bizarre theatrics from Washington, where Trump supporters reveled in memes showing the US President beating up Canadian PM Mark Carney in a hockey rink. “This video is disgusting, an embarrassment to all Americans. To me at least, it suggests mental instability on the part of Trump and underscores the patience and firm, measured dignity with which Prime Minister Carney has managed an out-of-control bully,” noted NYT columnist Nicholas Kristoff.
Trump wrote on Truth Social, arguing that more than 50 percent of Bombardier’s revenue comes from the US, while Canada blocks companies such as Gulfstream Aerospace from doing business there.
The US, with its vastly larger economy clearly has the bigger stick according to trade experts. “This won’t be easy, and I won’t pretend otherwise,” he said, pledging to protect Canadians affected by the US trade war. “NO MORE SELLING BOMBARDIER IN THE UNITED STATES! Their products aren’t good enough! In yet another show of cartographic trolling, Trump also shared a post showing all of Canada and Mexico, as also Central America, the Caribbean, Greenland. and Iceland, in American flag colors.
On Monday, Trump dropped another bombshell by singling out the Canadian aircraft manufacturer Bombardier. Iceland called in the U.S ambassador on Monday to protest. Carney acknowledged as much in a video post on Tuesday, saying while he didn’t believe in escalating the conflict, the harsh reality is that the American tariffs will hurt some Canadians.