Embracing Trump’s narratives is a great way to ensure you will ultimately be made to look like a fool.
U.S. President Donald Trump is on his way to China, where he will be pursuing deeper trade ties with the Communist State. Ahead of his trip, Trump praised China’s Leader Xi Jinping as someone “respected by all”:
Ahead of the trip, reports of a potential $1 trillion China investment deal raised alarm among some of Trump’s right-wing supporters:
Such a deal – which would reportedly include China setting up factories on U.S. soil (something the White House denies) – would be far wider in scope than the Canada-China deal that took effect March 1st, 2026. That deal largely brought Canada-China trade back to the status quo that prevailed before Canada imposed 100% tariffs on Chinese EVs – tariffs imposed at the request of the United States. The deal brought those tariffs down to 6.1% and will allow 49,000 Chinese EVs into Canada, and extended the remission of surtaxes on some Chinese steel and aluminum products. In return, China suspended ‘anti-discrimination’ tariffs on Canadian canola meal, peas, lobster, and crab, and reduced tariffs on Canadian canola seed to 14.9% from just under 85%.
Irrational criticism
Given the reality noted above – the limited nature of Canada’s trade rapproachment with China – the criticism made by some on the right – that Canada was trying to ‘replace’ Canada-U.S. trade with Canada-China trade, or that Canada was joining China’s ‘new world order’ (a deliberate misinterpretation of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s remarks) – looks deeply irrational. Further, many of those critics wanted Canada to avoid any trade rapproachment with China in order to avoid ‘upsetting’ the United States. Those critics want Canada to be subservient to the U.S., and want us to accept a world in which the U.S. dictates who Canada is and isn’t allowed to trade with, even as the U.S. President threatens to destroy entire sectors of our economy on a whim, violates trade deals he signed and once praised, and threatens our existence as a sovereign nation.
All of that was enough to discredit the critics who have been pushing the pro-Trump narrative in Canada. And now, Trump’s pursuit of deeper U.S.-China trade further discredits them. Most of those critics will have little to say about Trump pursuing more trade with China, proving they want to live in a world where Trump can do whatever he wants, but other nations must walk on eggshells to avoid angering him.
Trump will make a fool out of you
Aside from the hypocrisy and irrationality, the pro-Trump critics have also yet to realize that pushing Trump’s narratives means he will eventually make a fool out of you. All the people who claimed that increasing Canada-China trade (from a low baseline to the still-low pre-EV tariff status quo) meant becoming a vassal of China, now have to watch as Trump pursues much more trade with China and praises China’s leader. And, they now have to explain why they think Canada shouldn’t be allowed to trade more with China, but the United States should be. If that’s the case they want to make, then they are free to make it, but they shouldn’t be surprised that it will be politically ruinous and will be rationally rejected by most Canadians.
Spencer Fernando
Image – Twitter
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