In a recent interview, U.S. President Donald Trump said he would “rather deal with a Liberal than a Conservative” in charge of Canada. Trump claimed that Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre was “no friend” of his and it would be “easier” to deal with Prime Minister Mark Carney.
Trump made the comments on Tuesday during an interview with Laura Ingraham on Fox News.
Regarding the growing tension over trade disputes between Canada and the U.S., Trump said he’d “rather deal with a Liberal than a Conservative.”
“I think it’s easier to deal actually with a Liberal, and maybe they’re going to win, but I don’t really care. It doesn’t matter to me at all,” he said.
He then took a direct jab at Poilievre, referring to his stance on the U.S. president as “negative.”
“The Conservative that’s running is stupidly no friend of mine. I don’t know him, but he said negative things,” Trump said. “So when he says negative things, I couldn’t care less.”
Poilievre responded to Trump’s comment inferring that the U.S. president’s “endorsement” of Carney made it clear that he is “weak and would cave to Trump’s demands.”
Poilievre reiterated his stance during a press conference in Sudbury, Ont. Wednesday morning, saying that Trump prefers the Liberals in power because they will continue to keep Canada weak.
“After 10 years in power, the liberals have given us the weakest economy in the G7, they’ve doubled their housing costs, driven half trillion dollars to the south, all while Mark Carney was an economic adviser to Trudeau, and while Mr. Carney moved his corporate headquarters to New York,” he said.
Trump has gone after Poilievre before.
Last month, he was asked if the Conservatives were “still going to be able to pull it out up there” by a reporter and Trump responded that his “biggest problem” with Poilievre was that “he’s not a MAGA guy.”
“I mean, he’s really not a Trump guy at all,” he said.
“He’s… different. Make it a big mistake. They all make that mistake. You know. They think they’re going to be the tough guy and they’re going to knock out Trump, and they end up getting the hell beat out of ’em,” answered Trump.
Critics of Poilievre have repeatedly lambasted him with comparisons to the U.S. president.
Poilievre has pushed back against Trump’s tariffs, “51st state” rhetoric and talk of annexing Canada by “economic force” as have politicians of all stripes.
Referring to Carney in his speech in Sudbury Wednesday, Poilievre addressed Brookfield Asset Management’s decision to move his company’s headquarters to New York City only days after Trump first threatened to impose tariffs on Canada.
“Do you know that he moved his headquarters to Trump’s hometown six days after Trump first threatened to tariff Canada? While these people here were worried about losing their jobs, Mark Carney was busy moving jobs to Trump’s hometown,” said Poilievre.
“That’s exactly the kind of weak compromise conflicted leadership that Donald Trump wants, and it’s why he endorsed Mark Carney yesterday. What Canadians need, though, is a leader who’s tough and firm and stands by his convictions, a leader who will make Canada strong, self-reliant and stand on its own two feet, a leader who will put Canada first.”