President Donald Trump and the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation are united in their condemnation of a Canadian ad, an incident that has led Trump to “terminate” all trade talks with Ottawa.
The foundation was the first to criticize the ad, stating the Ontario government used “selective audio” from a 1987 speech without permission and “misrepresents” Reagan’s full comments.
Trump quickly “cited the foundation’s criticism” in his own truth social post. He called the ad “fraudulent” and “fake,” and accused Canada of “egregious behavior.”
He then announced an immediate halt to all trade negotiations. This move was confirmed by secretary of state Marco Rubio, plunging the US-Canada trade relationship into crisis.
The ad was meant to protest 35% US tariffs on Canadian goods. The full 1987 speech, however, shows Reagan defending his own tariffs on japan, a context the ad ignored.