Ford Hits Back at Trump With Blunt Words Amid Tariff Standoff

Ontario Premier Doug Ford delivered a sharp rebuke to U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday, escalating a war of words as a trade dispute between the two nations intensifies.

Speaking to reporters in Hamilton, Ontario, Ford doubled down on earlier radio remarks in which he suggested Trump could "kiss my ass." He added, "I have a lot of real estate on my ass, so he has a lot of room to kiss my ass."

Ford also called Trump a "loser" and claimed, "I have more courage, more brains in my baby toe than he has in his whole body." He said he would not be drawn into a back-and-forth with the U.S. president, stating, "I'm not going to take the bait."

The comments come after Washington threatened new 50% tariffs on Canadian vehicles, auto parts, and steel. The threat followed Prime Minister Mark Carney's decision to walk away from trade negotiations late Friday, which triggered the proposed duties on roughly $20 billion worth of Canadian goods.

Carney has accused the U.S. of attempting to subordinate Canada. He indicated on Monday that Canada may shift from matching U.S. tariffs dollar-for-dollar to a more targeted approach aimed at protecting Canadian workers and businesses.

Canada is expected to announce its own retaliatory tariffs on Tuesday. The two countries share one of the world's largest trading relationships, with deeply integrated supply chains across autos, energy, agriculture, and manufacturing, making a prolonged conflict potentially costly for both sides.

Despite belonging to different political parties—Ford is a Progressive Conservative, while Carney is a Liberal—both leaders underscore broad political unity in Canada over the trade fight.