President-elect Donald Trump mocked Canada’s prime minister in a post late Monday that described him as “Governor Justin Trudeau of the Great State of Canada.”
The social media post also cited a surprise dinner between the two leaders at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, over the Thanksgiving weekend and called it “a pleasure.”
Canada, of course, is the second-largest country by landmass, with a population of roughly 40 million.
“I look forward to seeing the Governor again soon so that we may continue our in depth talks on Tariffs and Trade, the results of which will be truly spectacular for all!” Trump wrote.
The president-elect has promised to impose tariffs of 25% on exports from Canada and Mexico on his first day in office next month unless the two countries do more to stem the flow of immigrants without legal permission and drugs into the United States.
If Trump follows through on his pledge, it would upend the trade agreement among the three countries and be economically ruinous for Canada’s economy, which is heavily dependent on exports, particularly of oil and autos, to the United States.
Trudeau’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
While the two men extensively discussed the effects of tariffs, among other issues during their dinner, there was no indication afterward that Trudeau had changed Trump’s mind.
At the dinner, Trump also suggested that Canada could become the 51st U.S. state. He kept poking fun at Canada afterward, posting a digitally altered photo last week of himself on a mountaintop with the Canadian flag, accompanied by the caption “Oh Canada.”
Some prominent members of Trudeau’s Liberal Party downplayed the president’s recent comments.
Gerald Butts, a former top adviser, said that Trump had often used the “51st state” line with Trudeau during his first term in the White House. Dominic LeBlanc, Canada’s public safety minister and an attendee of the dinner between the two leaders, said that Trump had been “telling jokes” that evening.
“The president was teasing us,” LeBlanc said. “It was, of course, on that issue, in no way a serious comment.”
During his first administration, Trump belittled Trudeau on social media.
Following a Group of 7 summit in Charlevoix, Quebec, in 2018, Trump berated Trudeau on Twitter from Air Force One, accusing him of being “very dishonest and weak” and of making up “false statements.”
That attack prompted anger that crossed party lines. Canadians have long bristled at any dismissals of their country from their much more populous and richer neighbor.
But Trudeau is now is saddled with low approval ratings as many Canadians tire of his leadership, making it unclear how the public’s reaction to Trump’s recent comments will balance between outrage and approval.
After Trump’s tariff threat, Pierre Poilievre, leader of Canada’s Conservative Party, which has a strong lead in the polls over Trudeau’s Liberal Party, said that Trudeau was too “weak” to deal with Trump and urged the prime minister to call an immediate election.
After Trump announced his tariff threat, Trudeau took a measured tone, suggesting that the tariff dispute can be resolved amicably.
But more recently, Trudeau appears to be shifting toward a more assertive posture, suggesting Monday that Canada could respond with retaliatory tariffs on U.S. imports.
President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico has gone further and made clear that Mexico was prepared to respond with its own duties on U.S. goods.
Trudeau noted that Canada pursued a similar strategy during Trump’s first administration when the United States applied tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum.
“We will, of course, as we did eight years ago, respond to unfair tariffs in a number of ways, and we’re still looking at the right ways to respond,” Trudeau told a business audience in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
While Trudeau called the possible U.S. tariffs “absolutely devastating,” he continued to urge calm.
“One of the most important things for us to do is not to freak out, not to panic,” he said.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
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