Trump suggested the ad campaign was meant to interfere with an upcoming U.S. Supreme Court hearing on his administration’s tariffs.
U.S. President Donald Trump says he is terminating all trade negotiations with Canada over a TV ad campaign sponsored by the provincial government of Ontario opposing U.S. tariffs. The ad features the voice and images of the late Republican President Ronald Reagan speaking against protectionist measures.
Trump suggested the ad campaign was meant to interfere with an upcoming U.S. Supreme Court hearing on his administration’s tariffs.
“The Ronald Reagan Foundation has just announced that Canada has fraudulently used an advertisement, which is FAKE, featuring Ronald Reagan speaking negatively about Tariffs. The ad was for $75,000,000. They only did this to interfere with the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court, and other courts,” Trump wrote on Truth Social late on Oct. 23.
“Tariffs are very important to the national security and economy of the U.S.A. Based on their egregious behavior, all trade negotiations with Canada are hereby terminated. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
The $75 million ad campaign was rolled out by the government of Ontario this month to oppose U.S. tariffs on Canada. The one-minute ad shows images of America’s heartland and the Canada-U.S. border, and features words from Reagan’s 1987 address advocating the principles of free trade.
“You see, at first, when someone says, ‘Let’s impose tariffs on foreign imports,’ it looks like they’re doing the patriotic thing by protecting American products and jobs. And sometimes for a short while it works—but only for a short time,” Reagan says in the ad.
“High tariffs inevitably lead to retaliation by foreign countries and the triggering of fierce trade wars. Then the worst happens: Markets shrink and collapse, businesses and industries shut down and millions of people lose their jobs.”
In his Oct. 23 social media post, Trump featured a statement from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute, which says that the ad used selective audio and video of Reagan, and that it misrepresents what the late president said. The foundation added that it may pursue legal action against the government of Ontario.
“The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute learned that the Government of Ontario, Canada, created an ad campaign using selective audio and video of President Ronald Reagan delivering his ‘Radio Address to the Nation on Free and Fair Trade,’ dated April 25, 1987,” the foundation said.
“The ad misrepresents the Presidential Radio Address, and the Government of Ontario did not seek nor receive permission to use and edit the remarks.”
The Epoch Times contacted the government of Ontario and the prime minister’s office for comment, but didn’t immediately hear back.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford previously said that the ad is not “nasty,” and that it’s “just very factual and coming from a person like Ronald Reagan,” adding that “he was just the best president the country’s ever seen in my opinion.”
Trump’s tariffs, the centerpiece of his trade policy, have been challenged in court, and the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to fast-track his administration’s appeal of lower court rulings that struck down most of the tariffs.
The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments on the tariffs on Nov. 5. Trump has said he may attend the hearing in person.
