Trump to stop doing memes by world leader amid escalating trade row

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has told the Trump administration to "stop doing memes, stop throwing shade and stop trying to be tough," amidst a fresh series of attacks directed from Washington on Tuesday.

Carney indicated that cross-border trade discussions could restart if Washington approaches negotiations seriously, but charged that the US was pursuing demands that could leave domestic sectors "gradually wound down in Canada and wiped out."

"When the Americans stop doing memes, stop throwing shade and stop trying to be tough, and start being serious about having those discussions, we can have those discussions," Carney said. "It’s not constructive, but that’s their democracy."

The remarks follow ongoing hostility from Washington since negotiations broke down on 21 August. Trump has proposed renaming Lake Ontario "Lake America" and taunted Ottawa online, while U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent argued Canada could not go "tit for tat" against an economy 13 times larger.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also ridiculed the Canadian armed forces online, uploading an image Monday of two female cadets at a British Columbia training centre alongside a Canadian flag and the phrase "this is real." Carney described the upload as "beneath their office." The Pentagon defended the action Tuesday, stating, "The X post speaks for itself."

Bessent responded on Fox News, claiming Carney had taken a "verbal beatdown" from himself and Hegseth. Addressing Carney’s demand for the administration to cease "throwing shade" and resume proper talks, Bessent remarked: "Well, he was the one who said we were at war."

Mark Carney Dave Chan / AFP via Getty

Carney explained that the American strategy would render Canadian firms effectively subsidiaries of US businesses or introduce conditions where they are "gradually wound down in Canada and wiped out."

"We’re not going to — of course, we’re not going to accept those terms," Carney said.

The prime minister said Washington sought an "uncompetitive" agreement across key sectors, including autos, while pressing for changes to French-language and cultural safeguards. He noted that any single factor was sufficient to prevent an accord.

Carney added that Washington attempted to restrict Ottawa's future trade accords. "Canada is a sovereign state. We will strike free trade deals with the countries we wish to strike free trade deals," he stated.

He noted that "mutually beneficial" elements had existed before negotiations fell apart.

Bea Bruske, president of the Canadian Labour Congress, said Carney informed labour leaders Tuesday that cross-border relations could not be expected to "go back to normal any time soon," describing circumstances as "a new normal that we have to get adjusted to."

Carney was boosted by a Liberal sweep of three by-elections on Monday, including a decisive win in Chicoutimi-Le Fjord, Quebec, where the Conservatives slipped to third place.

These wins raised the Liberals to 173 seats in the 343-seat House of Commons, strengthening Carney’s hand as he challenges Trump regarding trade and Canadian sovereignty.

Nelson Wiseman, a professor emeritus of political science at the University of Toronto, noted that Trump’s annexation warnings hold distinct significance in Quebec. "Quebecers have the most to lose in an apocalyptic scenario where the U.S. absorbs Canada, and the status of the French language disappears," he said.

Trade talks between the two nations collapsed after failing to yield an agreement, with Trump imposing 50 per cent tariffs on roughly $20bn of Canadian goods. Canada’s retaliatory tariffs targeting nearly $20bn in US goods are due to begin 8 September, with levies spanning 15 per cent to 50 per cent.

Trump has frequently mentioned converting Canada into the 51st US state.