The behavior of former Canadian Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, who stepped down from her position Monday, was "totally toxic" and unhelpful for dealmaking with the United States, President-elect Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social shortly after she announced her resignation.
"The Great State of Canada is stunned as the Finance Minister resigns, or was fired, from her position by Governor Justin Trudeau," Trump wrote. "Her behavior was totally toxic, and not at all conducive to making deals which are good for the very unhappy citizens of Canada. She will not be missed!!!"
In his criticism of the minister, Trump again made a point to mock Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as "governor" and the nation of Canada as a "great state," as he has several times since threatening to impose 25% tariffs on goods coming in as a way to put pressure to intensify efforts to combat fentanyl smuggling and bolster border security, The Hill reported.
In her resignation letter, Freeland said her country needs to "take [Trump's] threat [of tariffs] extremely seriously" and push back against the "'America First' economic nationalism."
She insisted that "our country today faces a grave challenge," adding that Canada needs to keep "our fiscal powder dry today, so we have the reserves we may need for a coming tariff war. That means eschewing costly political gimmicks, which we can ill afford and which make Canadians doubt that we recognize the gravity of the moment."
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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