Trump Called a Canadian Ad Fake. It Faithfully Reproduces Reagan’s Words
In calling a halt to trade talks with Canada, Trump pointed to an ad paid for by the province of Ontario that used a speech President Ronald Reagan made decades ago. In it, Mr. Reagan speaks against tariffs, a tool Trump has widely deployed, including against Canada, and warns against protectionism.
Trump claimed that the ad was fake and that it had been aired “to interfere with the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court,” which is considering a legal challenge to many of his tariffs.
But the advertisement, which Ontario’s provincial government purchased to air in the United States, uses sound bites from a radio address Mr. Reagan made in April 1987 that was critical of tariffs.[i] It reproduces Mr. Reagan’s quotes accurately,[/i] but changes the order he said them.
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute said in a statement that the Canadian ad misrepresented Mr. Reagan’s views. The foundation did not immediately respond to a question about how the ad misrepresented those views.
Mr. Reagan’s pro-free trade legacy has become an awkward issue for Republicans, who still lionize the former president as a conservative hero but are now led by the highly protectionist Mr. Trump, who has imposed the most tariffs on U.S. imports since the Great Depression.
Trump claimed that the ad was fake and that it had been aired “to interfere with the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court,” which is considering a legal challenge to many of his tariffs.
But the advertisement, which Ontario’s provincial government purchased to air in the United States, uses sound bites from a radio address Mr. Reagan made in April 1987 that was critical of tariffs.[i] It reproduces Mr. Reagan’s quotes accurately,[/i] but changes the order he said them.
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute said in a statement that the Canadian ad misrepresented Mr. Reagan’s views. The foundation did not immediately respond to a question about how the ad misrepresented those views.
Mr. Reagan’s pro-free trade legacy has become an awkward issue for Republicans, who still lionize the former president as a conservative hero but are now led by the highly protectionist Mr. Trump, who has imposed the most tariffs on U.S. imports since the Great Depression.
