WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump slammed Canada for playing “dirty” Friday as a row over an advertisement featuring former leader Ronald Reagan that prompted Trump to scrap trade talks showed no sign of abating.
The Canadian province of Ontario said it would pull the offending anti-tariff ad on Monday so that negotiations could restart, after Trump alleged that the ad misrepresented the views of fellow Republican Reagan.
But Trump showed no sign of backing down, saying Ontario should not have let it air during the first two games this weekend of baseball’s World Series.
Adding extra spice to the row, the World Series features a Canadian team, the Toronto Blue Jays, facing a US team, the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Blue Jays thrashed the Dodgers 11-4 in the first game on Friday.
“Canada got caught cheating on a commercial, can you believe it?” Trump told reporters before heading on a trip to Asia.
“And I heard they were pulling the ad – I didn’t know they were putting it on a little bit more. They could have pulled it tonight,” Trump added.
After a reporter said the ad would be pulled on Monday, Trump replied: “That’s dirty play. But I can play dirtier than they can.”
Trump announced on his Truth Social network on Thursday that he had “terminated” all negotiations with Canada over what he called the “fake” ad campaign.
Less than 24 hours later, Ontario premier Doug Ford said he was suspending the ads after talking to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney about the spiraling row with Washington.
“In speaking with Prime Minister Carney, Ontario will pause its US advertising campaign effective Monday so that trade talks can resume,” Ford said in a post on X.
‘Crooked ad’
The Canadian ad used quotes from a radio address on trade that Reagan delivered in 1987, in which he warned against ramifications that he said high tariffs on foreign imports could have on the US economy.
It cited Reagan as saying that “high tariffs inevitably lead to retaliation by foreign countries and the triggering of fierce trade wars,” a quote that matches a transcript of his speech on the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library’s website.
The Ronald Reagan foundation wrote on X on Thursday that the Ontario government had used “selective audio and video” and that it was reviewing its legal options.
Trump said on Friday night that it was a “crooked ad,” adding that “they know Ronald Reagan loved tariffs.”
Trump and Carney are both set to be at a dinner on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in South Korea on Wednesday.
But Trump said he had no plans to meet Carney.
The latest twist in relations between the United States and Canada came just over two weeks after Carney visited Trump at the White House to seek a relaxation of stiff US tariffs.
On Friday, Carney had sought to calm the situation, saying that his country was ready to resume “progress” on trade talks “when the Americans are ready.”
Canada has “to focus on what we can control, and realize what we cannot control,” he added as he headed to Asia.
Trump’s global sectoral tariffs – particularly on steel, aluminum, and autos – have hit Canada hard, forcing job losses and squeezing businesses.
For now, the United States and Canada adhere to an existing North American trade deal called the USMCA, which ensures that roughly 85 percent of cross-border trade in both directions remains tariff-free.
But in a speech on Wednesday, Carney said that the United States has raised “its tariffs to levels last seen during the Great Depression.”
“Our economic strategy needs to change dramatically,” Carney added, saying the process “will take some sacrifices and some time.”
Trump slams ‘dirty’ Canada despite withdrawal of Reagan ad
https://arab.news/v5cmh
Trump slams ‘dirty’ Canada despite withdrawal of Reagan ad
- Ontario said it would pull the offending anti-tariff ad on Monday so that negotiations could restart
- Ad used quotes from a radio address on trade that former president Ronald Reagan delivered in 1987
Trump says Australia will grant asylum to Iran women footballers
- Presenter on Iranian state TV had branded the players “wartime traitors” after they stood motionless during the anthem
MIAMI: US President Donald Trump said Monday that Australia had agreed to grant asylum to some of Iran’s visiting women’s football team, amid fears they could face retaliation back home for not singing the national anthem before a match.
The gesture ahead of the team’s Asian Cup match against South Korea last week was seen by many as an act of defiance against the Islamic republic just two days after the United States and Israel attacked it.
“I just spoke to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, of Australia, concerning the Iranian National Women’s Soccer Team. He’s on it! Five have already been taken care of,” Trump said Monday on his Truth Social network, less than two hours after an initial post urging Australia to take them in.
Trump added that “some, however, feel they must go back because they are worried about the safety of their families, including threats to those family members if they don’t return.”
There was no immediate comment from the Australian government, which has so far declined to say whether it could offer the players asylum.
Asked about their case on Sunday, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Australia “stands in solidarity” with the people of Iran.
The son of Iran’s late shah, US-based Reza Pahlavi, warned on Monday that the refusal to sing the anthem could have “dire consequences,” and urged Australia to offer the team protection.
Trump then weighed in, pressing Albanese to “give ASYLUM” to the team and adding: “The US will take them if you won’t.”
“Australia is making a terrible humanitarian mistake by allowing the Iran National Woman’s Soccer team to be forced back to Iran, where they will most likely be killed,” the US leader said on Truth Social.
Pahlavi, who has not returned to Iran since before the 1979 Islamic revolution that ousted the monarchy, has billed himself as the man to lead a democratic transition to a secular Iran as the theocratic regime fights to survive.
Politicians, human rights activists and even “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling have also called for the team to be offered official protection.
“Please, protect these young women,” Rowling said in a post on social media.
‘Save our girls’
A presenter on Iranian state TV had branded the players “wartime traitors” after they stood motionless during the anthem before their match against South Korea.
In subsequent games, the players saluted and sang.
Crowds gathered outside the Gold Coast stadium where the side played their last match over the weekend, banging drums and shouting “regime change for Iran.”
They then surrounded the Iranian team bus, chanting “let them go” and “save our girls.”
On Monday, an AFP journalist saw members of the team speaking on phones from their balcony of their hotel.
Asked about the possibility of granted asylum, a spokesperson for Australia’s Home Affairs department told AFP earlier it “cannot comment on the circumstances of individuals.”
Amnesty International campaigner Zaki Haidari said they faced persecution, or worse, if they were sent home.
“Some of these team members probably have had their families already threatened,” Haidari told AFP.
“Them going back... who knows what sort of punishment they will receive?“
Despite being heavily monitored, the side would have a “small window of opportunity” to seek asylum at the airport, he said.
Iran’s embassy in Australia did not respond to a request for comment.
