Ontario Premier Doug Ford Contends Trump ‘Wants to Hurt Americans’ with Baffling Canada Trade War: ‘I Do Not Understand’

Ontario Premier Doug Ford questioned if President Donald Trump deliberately wanted to “hurt Americans” in pursuing a trade war with Canada, questioning why the president continues to target one of the United States’ closest allies.

Ford appeared on CNN News Central on Tuesday, one day after the lawmaker’s bitter exchange with Trump exploded when he said the president could “kiss my a**” when it came to tariffs. The outburst came as a reaction to the Trump-imposed 50% levies on Canadian goods, which in turn prompted Prime Minister Mark Carney to promise a “dollar-for-dollar” response.

During the interview Ford admitted that “things got a little heated” the previous day, but stood his ground in defense of Canada’s position.

The network’s anchor Wolf Blitzer then confronted Ford with a new Truth Social post by the president declaring his country as “easily ‘the most difficult and unreasonable’” country he deals with.

“Well, you know, Canada has to stand up for their sovereignty. He’s not attacking every other country saying that we’re the 51st state,” Ford reasoned. “Again, we’re the number one customer, we buy more goods and products off the U.S. and vice versa by the way, than anywhere in the world.”

“I think President Trump wants to hurt the American people!” he said. “It’s going to cost the Americans up to $5,000 more on automobiles. It’s going to cost them a few thousand dollars more when these tariffs are impacted on the U.S.”

Pivoting to Canada’s planned retaliation, he continued: “I know the federal government and the prime minister is coming out with I think it’s over 95 pages of tariffs against the U.S. and that hurts the American people.”

“I do not understand why he wants to attack Canada nonstop, we’re the closest friends and allies,” he added. “Make no mistake about it, Wolf, Canadians still love the American people. They love the U.S. They don’t see eye to eye with the president by any means. But we love the American people, and I do as well.”

The more cautious rhetoric came after Ford threatened on Monday to “go at” Trump “full-steam” and branded the president a “bully.”

The president responded hours later on Truth Social: “Lots of ‘bluster’ from Doug Ford, who is the Premier of the Canadian Province of Ontario, but who is better known as the less charismatic, intelligent, and overall unimpressive brother of the late, great, Rob Ford.”

“America has been carrying Canada for decades, but no longer!” Trump wrote.

Watch above via CNN.

Jason Cohen contributed to this report.

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