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Congressional Republicans have clear advice for Canadians: Tune out the Trump administration.
After US President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney traded rhetorical blows at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week — “Canada lives because of us,” Trump said Wednesday, warning Carney to “remember that” — lawmakers in his party aimed for de-escalation with their neighbors to the North.
“Our relationship is inseparable — and we may have disagreement, but again, the people of Canada and the people of the United States have so much in common, it’s an understatement,” said Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C. “So this is just a blip.”
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., a more frequent Trump critic, said that “I don’t think we should be in the business of responding to every single comment he makes,” adding that “Canada is an important ally.”
Carney earned a standing ovation on Tuesday with his self-written warning that “the rules-based order is fading” worldwide thanks to aggressive powers like Trump’s US. Though Carney did not mention the president by name, Trump publicly acknowledged the snub; in his own Davos remarks on Wednesday, he chided Carney for failing to be “so grateful” for the “freebies” that Ottawa receives.
The back-and-forth highlighted the fraying relationship between the longtime allies since Trump took office. Canada broke from the US this month when it struck a deal with China that exchanges lower electric vehicle tariffs for reduced agricultural levies. And with the fate of the US’ free-trade agreement with Canada and Mexico looking more uncertain, Trump this week shared an image of the US flag superimposed over Canada (plus Greenland and Venezuela).
Even Republicans who were frustrated with Carney’s speech predicted the US-Canada relationship would remain unscathed by his harsh assessment of America’s role in the world.
“It’s unfortunate that the Canadian leadership has chosen this time to respond the way they did,” said Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Mich., who chairs the House Select Committee on China.
But he added that “the US and Canada have great opportunities to collaborate in the area of critical minerals and rare earths and lessen our dependence on China. … I’m confident our countries will work through these differences.”
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Hours after Trump’s speech, he said he successfully struck a deal with NATO over Greenland that could bolster congressional Republicans’ argument.
“Generally, across the board, I think our allies should all know that we’re going to stand with them,” Fitzpatrick added. “That includes Denmark; it includes NATO; it includes Greenland; it includes everybody.”
Some congressional Republicans made clear they weren’t thrilled with Trump’s more combative recent rhetoric. That includes Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., who serves on the House committee with jurisdiction over trade deals.
“Trump is disrupting the status quo, and that’s what other leaders may be threatened by,” Malliotakis said. “But look, I think that stylistically, there’s things that I’ve disagreed with.”
“We need to show strength but also be diplomatic, particularly when it comes to our allies,” she added.
Room for Disagreement
Not everyone was so sanguine. The top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Greg Meeks of New York, warned that Trump’s treatment of Canada would have long-term consequences.
“Picking a fight with that country just does not make sense; it is unprecedented,” Meeks said. “And so what you see is world leaders start to say, ‘We just got to stick together.’”
Carney sent that same message “to our European allies, who now also say, ‘We’ve got to stick together,’” Meeks added. “That creates a national security problem for us, because we are only as secure as the information and cooperation we get from our friends and allies around the world.”
The View From Canada
Since taking office for a second time, Trump has referred to Canada as the US’ 51st state, imposed crippling tariffs, and expressed interest in revising the nations’ shared border. The map he shared this week was “unacceptable,” Ontario Premier Doug Ford said.
So he and other Canadians are more than happy to heed Carney’s call to “stop pretending” and “name reality.”
“Trump remains relentless in his campaign to create a more unstable, unsafe and uncertain world,” Ford said. “There has never been a more important time for Team Canada to stay united.”
Notable
- Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC the Trump administration has invited Canada to participate in its Golden Dome project should Canadian officials “want to pay their share.”
- Canadian officials told The Globe and Mail that the Canadian military is modeling its response to a hypothetical US invasion, though they stressed they consider it unlikely.