President Ronald Reagan would be "throwing up" over the trade policies of President Donald Trump. It is just the latest in a series of comments from Ford speaking out against Trump and his policies. In an interview with The , Ford said Trump keeps a portrait of Reagan—a consistently popular Republican president who championed free trade—near his desk, but that the late leader would be "disgusted with President Trump." Referring to Trump's tariffs and interventionist measures, which he says are at odds with Reagan's economic policies, Ford added, "[Reagan would] be throwing up on him from the picture if he knew what was going on." Ford's comments on Monday came after trade talks between the U.S. and Canada broke down, with Ottawa retaliating after Trump slapped 50 percent tariffs on $20 billion worth of Canadian goods.
Ford, who has served as premier of the most populous Canadian province since 2018, has repeatedly taken swipes since Trump returned to the Oval Office, although he previously told Politico he would “absolutely” get along with the U.S. president and wanted good ties with the U.S. The U.S. president has directed criticism at Ford and, more broadly, at Ontario. Newsweek has reached out to the White House and Ford’s office.
January 6, 2025: Trump's threats to impose 25 percent tariffs on products from Canada and rhetoric about wanting to make the country the 51st state prompted mockery from Ford, who said, “I’ll make him a counteroffer, how about if we buy Alaska, and we'll throw in Minnesota and Minneapolis at the same time.” Minnesota shares a 550-mile border with Canada about 320 miles of which is shared with Ontario. Ford went on to say Trump was "joking” and that a merger between the countries was "not realistic” as he noted the critical minerals, oil and electricity Canada sends to the U.S. He pledged to target red states with dollar-for-dollar retaliation.
However, Ford said that he did not want to make these moves, telling the outlet, “I want to work with President Trump.” February 27, 2025: After Ford claimed a third straight victory for his Progressive Conservatives in the province's election, he said he had been given a "mandate" to "stand up" to Trump’s tariff threats, adding, "Let me be clear. Canada will never, ever be the 51st state.” March 4, 2025: Canadian media reported that Ford blamed Trump for "causing chaos" with tariff threats. Ford criticized Trump and called on U.S.
Republican politicians to push back, saying that the U.S. president “needs to pay the price in the midterms," adding, “If I've got to go down there and knock on the doors myself, I will." March 10, 2025: Ford announced that Ontario would charge 25 percent more for electricity to 1.5 million American homes and businesses in response to Trump’s trade war. Minnesota receives some of its electricity from the Canadian province. If the United States escalates, I will not hesitate to shut the electricity off completely,” Ford told a news conference in Toronto.
March 26, 2025: Ford mocked Trump’s framing of tariffs as “Liberation Day," days before the U.S. leader announced them on April 2. Ford called the policy, “Termination Day for American workers." April 24, 2025: During the Canada Growth Summit, Ford accused Trump of wanting to destroy Canadian auto and manufacturing, saying, “I think the cheese slips off the cracker with this guy." “He wakes up in the morning and even people around him are not too sure what he’s going to do,” Ford added. August 7, 2025: During an interview with CNN, Ford responded to a question about how Canadians view Trump after tariffs and threats of the country becoming the 51st state.
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