President Donald Trump admitted on Tuesday that he caused the intensifying trade war between the U.S. and Canada after he added conditions to the talks at the 11th hour.
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Trump spoke briefly with CNN’s Jim Sciutto after Canada announced retaliatory tariffs on a bevy of U.S. goods. During the call, Sciutto asked about Canadian officials’ assertion that late-stage demands were inserted into the negotiations, and the president’s response was eerily surprising.
Sciutto shared a snippet of the conversation on X.
“That sounds like me,” Trump told the reporter.
“So you don’t deny it?” Sciutto responded.
The president replied, “No, no, I don’t deny anything. So no, they have to pay a fair amount. And if they don’t pay a fair amount, we won’t make a deal. That’s fine.“
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The exchange stunned some of the president’s critics.
“At least he admitted it. LOL. Clown show operation,” Dean Blundell, a Canadian comedian, posted on X.
“How Donald Trump is sending America’s manufacturing economy to the brink of the abyss,” Grant Stern, executive editor for Occupy Democrats, posted on X.
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