President Donald Trump escalated his criticism of Canada on Friday, accusing the country of “cheating” and attempting to “illegally influence” the Supreme Court in an all-caps rant on Truth Social.
The president’s blistering tirade followed escalating tensions after an ad commissioned by the government of Ontario used audio from one of Ronald Reagan’s presidential radio addresses from April 1987 in which he discussed a “message of free trade” he had with the Canadian government at the time.
Trump, who has repeatedly defended tariffs, accused Canada of misrepresenting Reagan’s position in the ad campaign. It uses excerpts of audio from Reagan’s full five-minute speech.
“CANADA CHEATED AND GOT CAUGHT!!!” Trump wrote on Truth Social, claiming that the country had “fraudulently took a big buy ad saying that Ronald Reagan did not like Tariffs, when actually he LOVED TARIFFS FOR OUR COUNTRY, AND ITS NATIONAL SECURITY.”
He claimed that “Canada is trying to illegally influence the United States Supreme Court in one of the most important rulings in the history of our Country,” and thanked the Ronald Reagan Foundation for “exposing this FRAUD.”
In a separate post, the president declared, “THE UNITED STATES IS WEALTHY, POWERFUL, AND NATIONALLY SECURE AGAIN, ALL BECAUSE OF TARIFFS! THE MOST IMPORTANT CASE EVER IS IN THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT. GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!”
He also said that “THE STOCK MARKET IS STRONGER THAN EVER BEFORE BECAUSE OF TARIFFS!”
In the original five-minute speech, Reagan warned that “high tariffs inevitably lead to retaliation by foreign countries” and can trigger “fierce trade wars” that cause markets to collapse and millions of job losses.
He also explained his decision the week prior to slap tariffs on Japan because of its “inability to enforce their trade agreement with us on electronic devices called semiconductors.”
“We expect our trading partners to live up to their agreements. As I’ve often said: Our commitment to free trade is also a commitment to fair trade,” Reagan said.
He noted that although he was reluctant to impose any form of trade restriction, the U.S. possessed evidence of unfair trade practices by certain Japanese firms, which he described as a “special case.”
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute criticized the use of selective parts of Reagan’s address, saying the ad “misrepresents” the full speech. The ad uses “selective audio and video”, it said, adding that the government of Ontario did not seek nor receive permission to use and edit the audio. The foundation shared the full, unedited recording on YouTube and said it would review its legal options.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford has defended the campaign, saying it is “very factual”. “We’re going to repeat that message to every Republican district there is, right across the entire country,” Ford said on October 14.
Trump has falsely claimed the ad is “fake” and part of a campaign to “interfere with the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court.” He announced Thursday night that “ALL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WITH CANADA ARE HEREBY TERMINATED,” citing Ontario’s “egregious behavior.”
The United States currently imposes tariffs of up to 35 percent on Canadian imports, with exemptions for goods covered under the U.S.–Mexico–Canada Agreement.
Trump’s longtime aide and former golf caddy Dan Scavino posted about the “anti-tariff PROPAGANDA ad” on X roughly six minutes before Trump’s first Truth Social post about it on Thursday night.
The Daily Beast has contacted the office of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney for comment.
Carney has said he was “disappointed” by the president’s move to increase tariff rates in August.
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