日本語
한국어
Tiếng Việt
简体中文
A contentious advertisement featuring former President Ronald Reagan, which critiques the imposition of tariffs, aired during the World Series this past weekend, igniting a furious response from President Trump and prompting an immediate halt to crucial trade negotiations between the United States and Canada.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford confirmed Friday that the anti-tariffs spot, which had already angered President Trump, would broadcast during the initial World Series games before being paused on Monday to allow for trade discussions to resume.
“Our intention was always to initiate a conversation about the kind of economy that Americans want to build and the impact of tariffs on workers and businesses,” Ford articulated in a post on the social platform X. “We’ve achieved our goal, having reached U.S. audiences at the highest levels.”
Ford continued, stating, “I’ve directed my team to keep putting our message in front of Americans over the weekend so that we can air our commercial during the first two World Series games. In speaking with Prime Minister [Mark] Carney, Ontario will pause its U.S. advertising campaign effective Monday so that trade talks can resume.” The Toronto Blue Jays hosted the Los Angeles Dodgers for these opening games of the MLB World Series.
The advertisement itself strategically splices excerpts from a speech Reagan delivered in April 1987. In the ad’s opening, Reagan is heard saying, “When someone says ‘let’s impose tariffs on foreign imports,’ it looks like they’re doing the patriotic thing by protecting American products and jobs. And sometimes for a short while it works — but only for a short time.” The commercial then features Reagan asserting that “over the long run such trade barriers hurt every American worker and consumer.” Notably, this latter statement was spoken before the ad’s initial lines in Reagan’s original address.
Upon learning of the advertisement, President Trump abruptly called off trade negotiations, communicating his decision through a series of posts on his platform, Truth Social. The President even went as far as to accuse Canada of attempting to “illegally influence” a pending Supreme Court case regarding his broad use of tariffs.
“CANADA CHEATED AND GOT CAUGHT!!!” Trump declared on Truth Social Friday morning, following his decision to end trade discussions the previous night. He further alleged, “They fraudulently took a big buy ad saying that Ronald Reagan did not like Tariffs, when actually he LOVED TARIFFS FOR OUR COUNTRY, AND ITS NATIONAL SECURITY.”
This escalating trade dispute comes after Trump’s late July announcement of a 35 percent tariff on virtually all goods originating from Canada, with the exception of products already covered under the 2020 U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement.