Wall St. Journal Scorches Trump for Re-Upping ‘Dumbest Trade War’ With Canada: ‘Makes No Economic or Political Sense’

The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board trashed President Donald Trump for escalating a tariff battle with Canada — which they say “makes no economic or political sense.”

In a scathing op-ed published late Sunday, the Journal referenced a column the editorial board published in January 2025 headlined “The Dumbest Trade War in History.” Sunday’s follow-up was titled, “The Dumbest Trade War Revisited.”

“President Trump took exception last year when we called his tariffs against Canada and Mexico the dumbest trade war in history,” the board wrote. “It got dumber this weekend as Mr. Trump escalated with another round of border taxes on Canadian imports, a mere 10 weeks before midterm elections.”

Trade talks between the U.S. and Canada have collapsed in recent days, and Trump imposed 50 percent tariffs on $20 billion worth of Canadian goods. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney vowed to match those tariffs “dollar for dollar” on U.S. goods going into Canada.

The Journal specifically called out the impact of Trump’s tariffs on an American auto giant.

“Mr. Carney said Saturday that a major reason the deal blew up is that the Trump team refused to ease tariffs on heavy and medium duty trucks, including those made at Ford’s plant in Ontario,” the board wrote. “Why is Mr. Trump punishing Ford, America’s largest auto producer?”

The board concluded by arguing the president’s latest move will have dire consequences for the GOP in November.

“Republicans are already getting pounded on the campaign trail over his tariffs and inflation,” the board wrote. “One reason for Mr. Trump’s frigid approval rating is that voters believe Mr. Trump is waging blunderbuss wars without a strategy, and on trade they’re right.”

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