According to CNBC , former U.S. Ambassador to Canada Bruce Heyman said that President Trump’s recent treatment of Canada is “the definition of insanity.”
During an interview on CNBC ‘s Squawk on the Street , Heyman claimed that President Trump could risk creating irreparable to damage to the relationship between the two countries amid the President’s turbulent NAFTA negotiations.
“The definition of insanity, just listening to the president there, is how the president has been treating Canada all this time,” Heyman said. “You know, this is our best trading partner in the world.”
While the Trump administration initially gave Canada a deadline on Friday to reach an agreement with the United States, a deal between the two nations still has yet to be made. The President also reportedly reached a trade deal with Mexico earlier in the week, leaving Canada out of the negotiations altogether.
After Trump’s off-the-record comments to Bloomberg News were leaked and published in The Toronto Star , showing an unwillingness, on the President’s part, to come to a compromise with Canada, Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland told reporters that she remains positive that some kind of agreement will still be made. “We know that a win-win-win agreement is within reach. With goodwill and flexibility on all sides, I know we can get there,” Freeland said.
While President Trump first expressed outrage that his private comments were leaked, he went on to confirm them, tweeting, “At least Canada knows where I stand!”
Going on to attempt to further justify his controversial comments about his negotiations with Canada, Trump tweeted again on Saturday morning, saying, “I love Canada, but they’ve taken advantage of our Country for many years!”
Wow, I made OFF THE RECORD COMMENTS to Bloomberg concerning Canada, and this powerful understanding was BLATANTLY VIOLATED. Oh well, just more dishonest reporting. I am used to it. At least Canada knows where I stand!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 31, 2018
“The U.S. has all the leverage in the world, but just because you can doesn’t mean you should,” Heyman continued, noting that the U.S. economy is nearly 10 times larger than that of Canada. “When you take your best friend, your greatest ally in the world, and start squeezing them, you can win, but I will tell you, the relationship will be damaged much longer than it will take the ink to dry on a new NAFTA deal.”
“You look at this, and it’s not just trade,” he added.
“They were with us in 9/11, like no other country. They were on our side in Afghanistan. They helped diplomats come out of Iran. Canada’s there, they are going to negotiate that out, but I don’t think [Trump’s] been treating them too well.”
