U.S. president-elect Donald Trump appeared to be mocking Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on social media, just hours after the Canadian leader addressed the looming tariff threat.
“It was a pleasure to have dinner the other night with Governor Justin Trudeau of the Great State of Canada,” Trump posted on Truth Social early Tuesday.
“I look forward to seeing the Governor again soon so that we may continue our in depth talks on Tariffs and Trade, the results of which will be truly spectacular for all!”
His remarks follow Trudeau’s conference with the Halifax Chamber of Commerce on Monday, where he said that dealing with Trump on the topic of tariffs will be “a little more challenging” than the last time he sat in the White House from 2017 to 2021. While he described that tariffs would be “devastating” to the Canadian economy, the prime minister also encouraged residents to remain calm, urging them “not to panic.”
“We will, of course, as we did eight years ago, respond to unfair tariffs in a number of ways, and we’re still looking at the right ways to respond,” Trudeau said in Halifax, as reported by The Canadian Press.
“Knowing that yes, (the tariffs) would be absolutely devastating means we have to take them seriously, but it does mean we have to be thoughtful and strategic, not go around making our opponents’ arguments for him, but making our arguments in a significant and united way.”
Trump’s mockery continues only less than two weeks after the president-elect joked about Canada becoming the 51st state of the U.S. during an intimate dinner meeting with Trudeau.
The two leaders met in Florida in late November, where Trudeau visited Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate, just days after Trump threatened to impose a 25-per cent tariff on all Canadian products entering into the United States unless Canada makes an effort to increase border security.
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Although Canadian Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc, who attended the meeting, insisted that the president-elect’s words were just banter, Trump went on to post an AI-generated photo on social media of him looking out atop of a vast mountain with a Canadian flag by his side.
OTHER POLITICAL LEADERS TRUMP HAS NICKNAMED
Misnaming Trudeau as a governor would not be Trump’s first time using nicknames or pseudonyms to criticize, insult, or express commentary about public figures and other leaders.
Throughout the U.S. election, he constantly referred to his opponent Joe Biden as “Sleepy Joe,” “Crooked Joe” or “Slow Joe.” He also often called fellow candidate U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris “Crazy Kamala,” while referring to her running mate Tim Walz as “Tampon Tim.”
Foreign leaders weren’t exempt from his name-calling, where he’s been overheard referring to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as “Little Rocket Man,” and reportedly called former president of Mexico Andrés Manuel López Obrador as “Juan Trump.”
