President Donald Trump admitted on Tuesday that he caused the intensifying trade war between the U.S. and Canada after he added conditions to the talks at the 11th hour.
Trump spoke briefly with CNN's Jim Sciutto after Canada announced retaliatory tariffs on a bevy of U.S. goods. During the call, Sciutto asked about Canadian officials' assertion that late-stage demands were inserted into the negotiations, and the president's response was eerily surprising.
Sciutto shared a snippet of the conversation on X.
“That sounds like me,” Trump told the reporter.
“So you don't deny it?” Sciutto responded.
The president replied, “No, no, I don't deny anything. So no, they have to pay a fair amount. And if they don't pay a fair amount, we won't make a deal. That's fine.“
The exchange stunned some of the president's critics.
"At least he admitted it. LOL. Clown show operation," Dean Blundell, a Canadian comedian, posted on X.
"How Donald Trump is sending America's manufacturing economy to the brink of the abyss," Grant Stern, executive editor for Occupy Democrats, posted on X.