President Donald Trump has signed an order purporting to rename one of the five Great Lakes along the U.S.-Canada border in a fit of pique over his ongoing trade war with Ottawa that appears to have no end in sight. Trump on Thursday signed an order directing federal agencies to refer to Lake Ontario as “Lake America” in all official documents and records, echoing a smilier move from early in his second term when he attempted to unilaterally rename the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America.” While the president does have the authority to direct how the government recognizes the names of places and landmarks, he cannot force Canada or individual citizens on either side of the border to follow his preferred naming conventions. The move, intended as a sop to a flagging political base that has grown increasingly disenchanted with his presidency and his administration’s failure to address the cost of living concerns that drove them to vote for him nearly two years ago, comes as Trump continues to antagonize traditional American allies for no apparent reason other than his own deeply-ingrained belief that the country has somehow been disrespected by allies who act as sovereign states rather than vassals.
Speaking in the Oval Office as he signed the order, Trump suggested that the decision was in part motivated by displeasure over what he described as Ottawa’s failure to pay the United States mob-style “protection” money for the privilege of existing under the American military umbrella. They don't pay us to defend Canada, but we defend Canada, and they understand that. As an example, we bought icebreakers.
We have 11 brand new icebreakers coming in, they'd like to use the icebreakers. They don't pay for anything, and they want to be treated like a state, but they're not a state,” he said. He added that the “whole Canadian thing” has been “going on for decades” and “has to stop” while offering up the example of automobile manufacturing as something that he believes should be entirely re-shored to the U.S.
Asked why he was antagonizing one of America’s traditional allies even as he continues to cozy up to dictators in China and North Korea, Trump lashed out at leaders in Ottawa for pushing back against his trade war with retaliatory tariffs that they levied in response to the ones he ordered after trade talks broke down last week. Trump then suggested that Canada was “the worst to deal with on trade” despite the country’s long relationship with the U.S. and the trade agreement his administration negotiated during his first term. He complained that Canadians “feel entitled” and added that “we can’t have that.” Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Extract — continue reading at the source.
