White House Trade Adviser Peter Navarro used unusually harsh language Sunday in blasting Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for holding a “stunt” press conference to say his nation will not be pushed around by tariffs imposed by President Trump.
“There’s a special place in hell for any foreign leader that engages in bad faith diplomacy with Donald J. Trump and then tries to stab him in the back on the way out the door,” Mr. Navarro told Fox News Sunday.
“That’s what bad-faith Justin Trudeau did with that stunt press conference. That’s what weak, dishonest Justin Trudeau did — and that comes right from Air Force One,” he said.
After Mr. Trump’s departed the Group of Seven nations summit in Quebec, Mr. Trudeau held a press conference Saturday stating that all of the member nations, including the U.S., had signed a communique pledging to lower tariffs and other trade barriers.
Mr. Trudeau also said it was “kind of insulting” the U.S. had imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum under the guise of national security, noting Canadians stood “shoulder to shoulder” with Americans in overseas wars.
Mr. Trump fumed on Twitter and directed U.S. representatives not to sign the communique.
SEE ALSO: Larry Kudlow calls Justin Trudeau’s verbal attacks ‘amateurish,’ a ‘betrayal’
Mr. Navarro and White House Chief Economic Advisor Larry Kudlow used the Sunday talk circuit to slam Mr. Trudeau for his comments, saying the Canadian leader should have thanked the president for even showing up before a Singapore summit with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un.
“All Justin Trudeau had to do was take the win,” Mr. Navarro said.
He said Mr. Trump had “bigger things on his plate” and was willing to sign a “socialist communique” struck by the G-7 summit, though felt compelled to back out of the agreement after Mr. Trudeau criticized him publicly.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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