Doug Ford Tells Trump to 'Kiss My A**' as Trade War Explodes
Intra-Party Split Detected
Right-leaning outlets largely amplify Doug Ford's (a conservative Canadian premier) blistering criticism of Trump's tariff policy without pushback, showing some conservative-aligned figures breaking from Trump's approach on trade with an ally, even as Fox News coverage still includes Trump's framing that Canada is taking advantage of the U.S.
Left says
- •Carney's steady, measured resistance to Trump's tariff threats has become a source of national pride, with his approval rating climbing as Canadians rally around a firmer negotiating posture.
- •Trump's personal attacks on Ford and Carney, including mocking Ford's late brother and threatening to rename Lake Ontario, are seen as juvenile provocations rather than serious diplomacy.
- •Canada's pushback is framed as a defense of national sovereignty against a U.S. president who has repeatedly floated annexing Canada as the '51st state.'
- •Leaked comments from Vice President Vance dismissing Carney's toughness as an act that will ultimately fold suggest the administration misjudged Canadian resolve, risking a prolonged and costly standoff.
Right says
- •Trump's team argues Canada has long benefited unfairly from U.S. trade relationships, including what they describe as steep Canadian tariffs on American farmers, and that it's time to rebalance the relationship.
- •Doug Ford's vulgar outburst and comparisons of Trump to a 'dictator' are viewed as inflammatory rhetoric that escalates tensions rather than working toward a deal that benefits both nations.
- •Trump's warning that Canada relies heavily on the U.S. for its economic survival reflects a belief that Washington holds significant leverage and that Canadian officials are underestimating the consequences of defiance.
- •Some conservative voices note Ford himself warns the tariffs will hurt American consumers too, raising costs on vehicles by thousands of dollars, suggesting even critics of Trump's approach see mutual economic risk rather than a one-sided win.
Common Take
High Consensus- New 50% U.S. tariffs on roughly $20 billion of Canadian goods took effect after trade talks collapsed over the weekend, with Canadian retaliation set for Sept. 8.
- Trump has threatened to raise tariffs on Canadian autos, auto parts, and steel to 50% starting Jan. 1, 2027.
- Both Ford and Trump acknowledge the trade war will impose real economic costs, including higher prices for consumers in both countries.
- The U.S. and Canada conduct hundreds of billions of dollars in bilateral trade annually, and both sides describe the relationship as historically close despite the current rupture.
The Arguments
Left argues
Carney's measured, resolute posture has unified Canadians across party lines and boosted his approval rating, showing that firm resistance to Trump's tariff threats is both politically popular and a defense of national sovereignty against annexation rhetoric.
Right counters
Popularity at home doesn't change the economic math; Trump's team argues Canada has long benefited from lopsided trade terms, and defiance for its own sake risks prolonging a costly standoff that ultimately hurts Canadian workers more than American ones.
Right argues
Trump's team contends Canada has protected its own industries with steep tariffs, like those on U.S. dairy and agriculture, for years, and that rebalancing the relationship is a legitimate long-overdue correction rather than an act of aggression.
Left counters
Framing this as fair 'rebalancing' ignores that Trump has simultaneously threatened Canada's sovereignty by floating annexation and mocking its leaders personally, which suggests the goal is domination rather than a mutually beneficial deal.
Right argues
Doug Ford's vulgar 'kiss my a**' remark and comparisons of Trump to a dictator are inflammatory rhetoric that undermines diplomacy and makes a negotiated settlement harder to reach.
Left counters
Ford's blunt language reflects genuine public frustration with a U.S. president who mocked his late brother and threatened to rename Lake Ontario; matching juvenile provocation with plain-spoken defiance is not the same as sabotaging diplomacy.
Right argues
Trump's warning that Canada depends heavily on the U.S. for its economic survival reflects real leverage—American energy transit routes, market size, and consumer demand give Washington significant bargaining power that Canadian officials may be underestimating.
Left counters
The leaked Vance comments suggest the administration is overconfident, expecting Canada to 'climb down' as other allies have; misreading Canadian resolve could turn a short trade dispute into a prolonged, mutually damaging standoff that costs the U.S. politically ahead of the midterms.
Left argues
Even Trump-critical Canadian conservatives like Ford acknowledge the tariffs will raise U.S. auto prices by thousands of dollars, showing this is a mutually damaging conflict rather than a one-sided win for America, which undercuts the administration's framing of easy leverage.
Right counters
Acknowledging mutual pain doesn't mean the current terms are fair; Trump's team argues that absorbing short-term costs is worthwhile to correct a trade imbalance that has persisted for decades, and Canada's refusal to negotiate only delays a necessary reset.
Challenge Questions
These questions target genuine internal contradictions — meant to provoke honest reflection.
Right asks Left
“If Carney's firm approach is genuinely about principled sovereignty rather than political strategy, how does the left reconcile praising his 'restraint and resolve' with reporting that he's betting on U.S. midterms to force Trump's hand—doesn't that suggest calculation as much as conviction?”
Left asks Right
“If Trump's team insists tariffs are about fairly rebalancing trade, how does that square with simultaneously threatening to rename Lake Ontario, mocking Ford's late brother, and floating Canada as the '51st state'—are these actions consistent with seeking a good-faith deal or with something else?”
Outlier Report
Left Fringe
Progressive commentators and outlets like Mehdi Hasan or The Young Turks who frame this as evidence of Trump's authoritarian overreach and outright imperialism toward Canada represent maybe 15-20% of the left, pushing a more alarmist sovereignty-threat narrative than mainstream Democrats.
Right Fringe
Figures like Steve Bannon or some MAGA-aligned commentators who fully back annexation rhetoric and dismiss Canadian sovereignty concerns represent a vocal but small 10-15% of the right; most mainstream Republicans and business-aligned conservatives (e.g., Chamber of Commerce-aligned voices) are uncomfortable with tariffs hurting US auto consumers.
Noise Assessment
High noise ratio - Ford's viral 'kiss my ass' quote and Trump's Truth Social insults generate outsized social media engagement and outlet coverage relative to how much this issue actually shifts everyday American opinion, which is more driven by pocketbook concerns like car and grocery prices than personality clashes.
Sources (6)
<p>Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has turned his decision to hold firm against President Trump's <a href="https://www.axios.com/economy/tariffs" target="_blank">tariff</a> threats into a rallying point for Canadians as their trade clash escalates.</p><p><strong>Why it matters: </strong>The mild-mannered former Bank of Canada and Bank of England governor is <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/08/24/canada-trade-inflation" target="_blank">holding firm</a> against Trump despite the threat of further economic pain for Canadians.</p><hr /><p><strong>Context:</strong> Carney campaigned on <a href="https://www.axios.com/2025/03/09/canada-liberal-party-leader-election-mark-carney-trudeau" target="_blank">standing up to Trump</a> but has generally dealt with the unpredictable U.S. president with the measured temperament of his central banking days.</p><ul><li>That combination of <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/08/22/us-canada-tariffs-trade-trump-carney" target="_blank">restraint and resolve</a> has made Carney Canada's "man for the moment," Andrea Lawlor, an associate professor of political science at McMaster University in Ontario, tells Axios.</li></ul><p><strong>Driving the news: </strong>Carney walked away from trade talks with the <a href="https://www.axios.com/politics-policy/donald-trump" target="_blank">Trump </a>administration Friday and vowed to match new 50% U.S. tariffs "dollar for dollar," winning broad support at home.</p><ul><li>Corpay chief market strategist Karl Schamotta said Monday that Carney appears to be betting that November's <a href="https://www.axios.com/politics-policy/2026-midterm-elections" target="_blank">midterms</a> will blunt Trump's tariff drive, "opening the way to a mutually beneficial deal."</li></ul><p><strong>State of play:</strong> Lawlor notes Carney has enjoyed a "very extended political honeymoon" since his long-governing Liberal Party was <a href="https://www.axios.com/2025/04/29/canada-election-results-carney-poilievre-trump" target="_new">re-elected last year</a>.</p><ul><li>Carney was already popular before his latest clash with Trump. His approval rating <a href="https://press.liaisonstrategies.ca/federal-tracker-liberals-lead-by-11-as-carney-approval-reaches-60" target="_blank">rose</a> 3 points to 60% last week, while a <a href="https://leger360.com/in-the-news-canada-us-trade-negotiations-august-2026" target="_blank">poll </a>conducted during the same period showed most Canadians wanted a tougher approach to U.S. trade talks, days before the talks collapsed.</li><li>He has also won broad support from provincial premiers across party lines, including Ontario conservative <a href="https://www.axios.com/2025/10/27/ford-trump-canada-ontario-reagan-tariffs" target="_blank">Doug Ford</a>, who has aggressively pushed back against Trump's tariff threats, and Manitoba social democrat Wab Kinew, who <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWuaPPMUFys" target="_blank">said</a> he's "100%" behind Carney.</li></ul><p><strong>Threat level:</strong> Carney is under pressure to deliver on his <a href="https://www.pm.gc.ca/en/news/speeches/2026/08/22/prime-minister-carney-delivers-remarks-canada-us-trade-negotiations" target="_blank">promise</a> that Canadians "are already giving ourselves more than they can take away."</p><ul><li>He'll have to show how Canada can "give more to ourselves," Lawlor says, including through major projects that create jobs for people facing less stable employment prospects.</li><li>The risk for Carney is that economic pain could test that support. Canada's unemployment <a href="https://www.statcan.gc.ca/o1/en/plus/9280-weekly-review-august-3-7-2026" target="_blank">rate</a> is already 6.4%, and Lawlor says it could rise if the trade fight drives more steel and auto manufacturing out of industrial hubs such as southwestern Ontario.</li></ul><img src="https://images.axios.com/WPlbo-BLr3Z57ISi0AOh1wmLz7M=/2026/08/24/1787607111272.jpeg" /> <div>Screenshot: Ontario Premier Doug Ford/X</div><p><strong>Between the lines: </strong>It's not all about Carney. Trump's <a href="https://truthsocial.com/%40realDonaldTrump/posts/117151799569745572" target="_blank">continued</a> threats over tariffs and to make Canada the "<a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/06/03/trump-rubio-greenland-canada-takeover-talk" target="_blank">51st state</a>" have generated a powerful anti-Trump response among Canadians.</p><ul><li>The trade standoff has become a matter of sovereignty, not merely tariffs.</li><li>Carney's central banking background, however, gives him "a skill set of handling extraordinarily difficult situations" requiring responses that are "economically sound and fiscally prudent," Lawlor says.</li><li>His combination of knowledge and temperament makes him "a really well-suited figure for this moment," she adds.</li></ul><p><strong>Zoom out:</strong> Canada's refusal to accept Trump's terms contrasts with other major U.S. trading partners that have made concessions to avert steeper tariffs, like <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/07/28/trump-eu-trade-tariffs-concessions" target="_blank">the EU</a>.</p><ul><li>Consulting firm Kearney's Drew DeLong says Canada is testing whether "greater strategic autonomy is worth increased trade friction."</li><li>That test is becoming starker. Trump on Monday <a href="https://apnews.com/article/canada-trade-trump-ontario-53c4f83c8365c14b372b314396ae8179" target="_blank">told</a> Canada to "fall in line," while Carney said Canada would not accept being treated as a "subsidiary of the United States."</li></ul><p><strong>What we're watching:</strong> Lawlor says Canadians have little choice but to continue backing Carney's stance, even if the dispute drags on, because Trump's proposed terms are "patently unfair and not sustainable" for Canadian industry.</p><ul><li>Canada is beginning a long-term effort to shift some of its trade away from the U.S., bringing "short, medium, and long-term pain," she says.</li></ul><p><strong>Go deeper: </strong><a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/08/24/canada-trade-inflation" target="_blank">Escalated U.S.-Canada trade talks threaten fallout</a></p>
The president is using US dominance to challenge allies and enemies alike - but both Canada and Iran have found ways to fight back.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford told President Donald Trump to "kiss my a--" on CP24 after Trump mocked him as less impressive than late brother Rob Ford.
<p>Tuesday on CNN’ “Situation Room,” Ontario Premier Doug Ford said President Donald Trump wants to “hurt” the American people. Ford said, “Well, you know, Canada has to stand up for their sovereignty. He’s not attacking every other country saying that</p> <p>The post <a href="https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2026/08/25/ontario-premier-ford-trump-wants-to-hurt-the-american-people-2/" rel="nofollow">Ontario Premier Ford: ‘Trump Wants to Hurt the American People’</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.breitbart.com" rel="nofollow">Breitbart</a>.</p>
Ontario Premier Doug Ford continued his criticism of President Donald Trump amid the trade war between the United States and Canada.
“Your own people, President Trump, don’t even like you,” the Canadian leader said, as the president continues to threaten more tariffs.