'Unreal': Analysts stunned by Trump's 'most childish' response to Canadian tariffs ad

A pair of political analysts were stunned on Sunday after they saw President Donald Trump's response to an advertisement created by the Canadian government about his signature tariff policies.

The Canadian government's ad features video of former President Ronald Reagan arguing against tariffs in a speech, saying "American jobs and growth are at stake. In response, Trump issued a threatening statement increasing tariffs on Canadian goods and cut off trade negotiations with the country, according to reports. The Canadian government has since agreed to pull the ad.

"Because of their serious misrepresentation of the facts, and hostile act, I am increasing the Tariff on Canada by 10% over and above what they are paying now," Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Sam Stein, managing editor of The Bulwark, and Will Saletan, a writer at the outlet, discussed Trump's response in a new episode of "Bulwark Takes" on Sunday.

"When I saw that Trump had done it, I did a double-take," Stein said. "You are literally going to raise tariffs on an entire country because you saw an ad and you didn't like it. This is just the most childish crap. I cannot believe it happened. And yet, I can believe it."

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent defended Trump's response during an interview on Meet the Press, calling the Canadian ad "propaganda." Trump had also accused the Canadian government of trying to influence a case before the Supreme Court about his legal authority to impose tariffs.

Saletan seemed taken aback by Bessent's argument.

"It's not propaganda," Saletan said. "It's the truth, and they're simply telling Americans, 'Your own conservative president said this.'"