June 10, 2018

Trump’s Chief Economic Adviser Says Justin Trudeau “Stabbed Us in the Back”

Another White House official suggested there was a “special place in hell” for the prime minister.

President Donald Trump’s top economic adviser Larry Kudlow accused Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of “betrayal,” after Trudeau defended Canada against Trump’s proposed tariffs and announced that he would be moving forward with retaliatory measures against the US.

“He was polarizing,” Kudlow said during a Sunday morning appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “You know, here’s the thing. He really kind of stabbed us in the back. He really actually, you know what, he did a great disservice to the whole G-7.”

When pressed on how exactly Trudeau may have betrayed the US, Kudlow revealed that the White House was interpreting Trudeau’s comments as a stunt designed to threaten Trump’s much-anticipated upcoming meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un this week. “Kim must not see American weakness,” he said.

White House trade adviser Peter Navarro went a step further, suggesting to Fox News Sunday morning that there’s a “special place in hell” for the Canadian prime minister.

The remarks on Sunday escalate a pair of shocking tweets by Trump from the day before, in which the president charged a “dishonest and weak” Trudeau with making false statements. Completely upending an already fraught G-7 summit, Trump also announced that the US would be pulling out of a joint G-7 agreement.

Kudlow’s appearance on CNN Sunday makes clear that the White House isn’t pleased with the timing of Trudeau’s relatively staid remarks, as they came just days before Trump is set to sit down with Kim.

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DEMOCRACY DOES NOT EXIST...

without free and fair elections, a vigorous free press, and engaged citizens to reclaim power from those who abuse it.

In this election year unlike any other—against a backdrop of a pandemic, an economic crisis, racial reckoning, and so much daily bluster—Mother Jones' journalism is driven by one simple question: Will America move closer to, or further from, justice and equity in the years to come?

If you're able to, please join us in this mission with a donation today. Our reporting right now is focused on voting rights and election security, corruption, disinformation, racial and gender equity, and the climate crisis. We can’t do it without the support of readers like you, and we need to give it everything we've got between now and November. Thank you.

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