Close Reading

The more I read the comments of different news articles, the more I realize that we as a world, and a species, want to be united as friends, hand in hand but our leaders are trying to keep us divided. I hope we make it through the next few years alive. And when this nightmare is over, I look forward to the world coming together, be they people of Russia, Ukraine, Mexico, Canada, and America.

MAGA!!! A true friend doesn’t take advantage of its neighbors!!!! MAGA!!! ??

Wow, dude can I move to Canada now?! I want off this hellscape Rollercoaster in the US, where somehow we now have a president that's only out for himself and to enrich himself and his super rich friends lives on the backs and bones of every other American.

A much needed voice of reason and strength at the same time. Our support from Austria for our friends in Canada. You would be warmly welcomed in the EU. ????

Trump doesn't have an agenda for us, his agenda is for his rich friends.

Who needs Canada when you have Russia as your friend.

I would not want to live down there with the pervasive American attitude. I thought my American friends were lovely people, but then we went to a restaurant together. I was flabberghasted by how they ALL spoke down to the waitress, as if she was beneath them. You can pick out the American tourists here, by how they talk to service people. I wish I could say this was a stereotype, but i live in a tourist town and see it every day.

I’m just so sad and that the current american administration is trying so hard to make us hate each other! \n\nWhen things get bad, in a couple of weeks or months for both of us. Trump and his media Will absolutely blame Canada, not just for trying to defend itself, but for all of it. He Will try to make americans hate us so much so he can get something out of it and thats so wrong.\n\nI have so many memories of traveling to the US and meeting great people there. I don’t want it to end and I want to remember that most americans are our friends, good people who don’t wish harm to others.\n\nI really Hope reason and good people Will prevail, I Hope je won’t bête allowed to continue down this path for long, I Hope the congress or anyone will stand up for whats right. Courage!

Thanks heaven that Pierre Poilievre is not Prime Minister of Canada since he kiss trump's A$$ and repeats the same shenanigans as his beloved friend trump!

It is just funny how Canada said we are better than Mexico and us is our friend! Take your friendship in the ass!!! Mexico is much more loyal to its word

USA seems like they are deserting their closest friends and allies,but rest assured us Brits will always stand with Canada.??

If Canda is a friend, you would secure your borders to prevent drugs from coming to our country.

EXACTLY - Little donnie and t.j. are steering our country down a road of upside down, dangerously insane decisions... I hope Canada teaches don a lesson that this isn't how to treat your friends....

As American citizen I feel sorry for our Canadian and Mexican friends . We are always a friend .

Where is the money going, Donald? Seems like you are lining your pockets to enrich the vaults of you and your friends while over ninety percent of us are fitting the bill. ?

Donald youve just givin up on your friends here in Canada and likely the EU after their tarifs come in April. I hope your alliance with Putin is worth it because if you keep going on like this, he'll be your only friend

Not once did he talk about why this is happening? He says he's our friend but saying it is one thing. Actions speak louder Trudeau. Mr. Trump asked you to meet him to get balanced fair trade. You say you are our friend. But, yet you don't want fair and balanced trade. Hmmm, common sense goes a long. Tariff is a smart way to let you know that your certainly not acting like the friend and ally you say you are. This could all go away, but the truth is your demonrat supporter who lies, misleads the truth, and blames others. We the people don't tolerate that any longer and don't appreciate it. Shame on you!

Love you, Canada. The US people are always your friends. This is beyond absurd.

Trump is trashing U.S. relations with friends and allies, isolating your country, destroying your reputation worldwide, threatening U.S. jobs, U.S. security, the U.S. economy.. Why? To Make America Great Again - No! He wants to line his pockets and those of his billionaire friends with the tarrif revenue - its as clear as day!

Israel is their closest “friend” you will never see tariffs hit them

Trump and the GOP has taken the relationships with friends, allies and other democracies, put it in the snow shaker, shake it up and see where things land. The consequences is left to future generations to repair. meanwhile the authoritarian are smoking cigars and in laughter

Republicans voted Trump IN. He's a bully. He's and embarrassment to many countries around the globe. Yet, Republicans seem to completely agree with what he's doing.\nTo my Canadian friends...I don't want this trade war, I want to be friends.

to all americans: why don't u all go out and protest against trump and this lunacy more? show him and his friends you disagree?

Canadians are doing themselves proud by hunkering down and unifying the Country against this madness, so keep it up but don't lose your polite and friendly approach to life....be assured the rest of the free world is with you

This happened because Trump makes stuff up and doesn’t understand anything, to incl the consequences of his nonsense. Trump believes he’s playing 4D chess, when really he’s just performing and trying to look like a legit POTUS, the same way he does all kinds of silly stuff to pretend he’s some kind of genius businessman.\n\nThe fact that he kisses Putin’s butt and talks about falling in love with that lunatic who runs North Korea while insulting every friendly nation who calls us a friend is disgusting.

kuku na muniu Trump no have end ras Putin Kim John un Kadyrow don don don Lukasheka kartoshka its his Friend

When trump started blaming all the immigrants for the economic woes of the us like it’s 1945 I knew better than to listen to his bs. He lies and says what he needs to to act like a dictator. I didn’t vote for him. Nor will I ever be ok with him being on putins side or bragging about being friends with Kim jun un. He’s an idiot.

My apologies to Canada from Florida, together with my family and friends.

We ate not yiur friend you need to resign

Please know that most Americans don't want this made up fight with our wonderful up north friends and neighbors.

Mr. Trudeau, I wish you could be the American president. You have more of what we need than trump ever thought about. To my Canadian friends, my apologies. My country has entered an embarrassing period of time. We will resolve this, but it will take time. In the meantime, please know that the problem is our president, not our people.

Fentanyl coming in from Canada to the USA is 0.02 %. Soo... trump is lying about that. Truth is that Melania likes Justin Trudeau. He's younger and Much better looking than Old Man trump, And THAT gets under trumps thin skin. Soo thats why he's trying to belittle Trudeau in front of America and Canada. If trump didn't have $$$$ ? No woman would give him a second look even. He looks like and talks like a Ditty Ole Pervert just like His Pal And Good Friend Geoffrey Epstein did leering at young woman. Soo that's why he's shooting off his poisoned mouth wanting Our Great Country as the 51st state. Canada's tougher than he thinks and he'll see that When the Going gets Tuff, Canadians stand up for Ourselves!!!

I used to be a huge fan of America. I truly believed it was the world’s policeman, the guiding force for justice and freedom. I looked up to the country, admiring its strength, its values, and the way it stood for what was right. I even wished my own country could be more like that. \n\nBut America is no longer what it once was. It’s heartbreaking to see how a once-free and hopeful nation has transformed into something so divided, hostile, and unpredictable. A country that once stood by its friends now turns its back on them. A nation that once fought for unity now thrives on division and conflict. \n\nThere are still many good people in America, and the country is not beyond hope. But deep down, every American must realize—this is not the right path. This is not who you are meant to be. \n\nWake up before it’s too late.

I voted for Trump and a lot of his policies and actions I agree with, THIS one I do not, Canada did not let in NEARLY as many illegal immigrants as Mexico so it makes no sense why he is punishing them, and he isn't, he just doesn't like Trudeau probably because he was friends or friendly with Biden, same with Zelensky AND Canada wanted to ban products from red states for electing him which is frankly just a stupid policy. \nThis is not hard to figure out, Trump doesn't like Trudeau and Ford, plain and simple......it really is THAT shallow, he is trolling Trudeau by calling them the 51st state and anyone know knows Trump and how he thinks knows that.

The speech of Mr Trudeau, the way Canadians have shown solidarity for one another, today it all puts my country, The US, to shame. I am ashamed of what my government is doing and I am disgusted with the people doing it. In Mr Trump’s first term, as eclipsed as they were by the many many many actions and attitudes he imposed on us that embarrassed and hurt us as a country, there was the rare occasional decision I could at least understand even if I did not support it. Since taking office literally not one thing he has done has made sense to me as an American. I can only say how sorry I am for what the country I love is being used to do to you all, especially our closest allies and friends and in particular the people of Canada today. I grew up in Commerce Twp Michigan. I visited Canada regularly and, even as crime from Detroit poured across the border into Canada, Canadians always treated us with respect and welcome. I never imagined that would stop but now I find it hard to imagine how it might continue and it breaks my heart.

As an American right now i feel more strongly patriotic for my Canadian brothers than my own government. We should be the best of friends and allies this is such a stupid fucking step for trump to take. He's destroying our alliances. I only hope our relationship isn't irreparably damaged before his four years are up. As a western new yorker who has lived by the falls all my life, im really saddened to see this. Sorry.

I used to keep a refrigerator full of beer and a well stocked liquor cabinet. My friends were at my house 7 days a week. I stopped buying beer and boxed up my liquor and all my friends got mad and stopped coming by to visit. Our country has borrowed \n$37 trillion dollars and given a lot away to countries that claimed to be our friends and partners. We stopped giving money away and we are the bad guys? \nYeah I see a parallel.

I found quite weird the comment of Paula Newton. If you answer to an act of market aggression, you are anti American. So to be a friend to Americans you need to thank and kneel when the boss shows up. Quite a strange, weird concept of friendship.

I ask!...who projects the TRUTH most! TRUDEAU or TRUMP??...I'm asking for a friend!??‍♂️

The way to go my Canadian friends.

Stop trying to speak to the Convict's good side because he has none. Canada Diversify away, realign, unite and form new trading blocks. Circle the wagon leaving the USA outside. It is clear they are moving on. Friends are now being treated like enemies.

TRUDEAU is full of Shit, he stealing from Us and is not friendly to us at all. What a lying hypocrite

Being the enemy to America is dangerous but being a friend is fatal

CNN hates America. We don’t need more friends like Canada. Like having a groupies around. No benefit. Just a net drain.

We know that our president is a frigging idiot, but the fact he *noticeably* drops his language grade level when “talking directly to” Trump and says “we’ve done *big things*” twice and calls him a “very smart guy” and pulls it into a schoolyard metaphor of “two friends fighting.”\n\nI couldn’t wrap my head around how we got saddled with this joke of a human in 2016. \nCouldn’t fathom how it was close in 2020.\nWant to vomit every day that we allowed this deep, unchecked harm to befall us, our allies, and the entire world. \n\nI keep wanting to just wake up.\nI feel so insane that we seem to have literally no power to stop this, and that the *entirety* of the GOP is completely fine with this. They have the power, but truly with small margins. But they’re just … all complicit in this.\n\nAnd even NOW, when it’s clearly going to fuck the economy and markets in ways that hurt actual corporations (who truly run it all now, from all sides of the political aisle except what seems like 5 social Dems/independents federally), even THE MONEY isn’t talking.

Yes but Putin is Trump’s friend and boss

tRUMP - The Orange Idiot is going to destroy America but as it is sinking MAGA Cultists will scream how their glorious leader is working for them when in actual fact he is ONLY interested in lining the pockets of his billionaire friends. Go for it Canada?

Americans obviously didn’t understand what tariffs are, didn’t get that it’s an import tax which they must pay on goods and products they buy from Canada, a tax which tRump collects from Americans and uses to pay for tax-cuts for the richest citizens. But one more thing Americans don’t get is that before this fateful day an unofficial boycott against ALL US goods has been growing since tRump insulted Canada’s Prime Minister and threatened Canada’s sovereignty—whereas Canada’s official countervails ( which only kicked-in today )only target certain US goods, not ALL of them like ordinary Canadians are doing in growing numbers right now—in fact, the imposition of tRump’s tariffs today has only made the unofficial boycott bigger and more organized. It’s heartening that so many nations have solicited Canada, offering alternative sources for common US exports to Canada —citrus fruits, pharmaceuticals, and other manufactures, to name a few.\n\nI don’t think Canadians even realize how big this unofficial boycott is getting because it’s growing so fast. I’ve never seen a surge in Canadian patriotism like this. Never in my seven decades —which includes the two Referenda on Quebec separation. And there’s a federal election approaching when all partisans will be one-upping each other in the patriotism department—which manifests in more boycotts of US goods and hospitality services.\n\n Americans should know that the unofficial boycott is more harmful to US exporters than the official targeted countervails because it features immediate and longterm diminishment of Canadian purchases of US goods—all retailers know it’s very hard to recover lost customers once they’ve found alternatives (and the added patriotic effect only makes it worse). Included is diminishment of Canadian visits to the USA. Indeed, the internet is replete with testimonies of Canadian”snow birds” not only forgoing their annual sojourn in the Florida or Arizona sunshine but also of selling their properties there with the parting shot, “I will never vacation in the US again!” Already Mexico has seen its visits from Canadians (who have had a modest presence in Mexico for years) surge to unprecedented levels. I know from much-welcomed temp Mexican construction workers in BC (where I live) that they view Canadians completely differently from our mutual US neighbours—and now that affection is growing like never before. \n\nI’m continually amazed at how uninformed Americans are about tariffs—and misinformed by tRump and his goofy, preposterous, and ridiculous fantasy of world-domination. When tRump uses the lame excuse to implement emergency powers —that Canada is “allowing” (as Vance puts it) fentanyl to “pour into the USA”—it’s tantamount to saying Ukraine started the war with Russia. The man is a tendentious liar and narcissistic megalomaniac. \n\nI have faith that the great nation of the USA will reject tRump’s crazy policies—we all just have to hang on and let the needless suffering for both our nations (and the world with regard strategic alliances) play out until he either relents, is swamped in legal repercussions, is impeached, or otherwise removed from office!\n\nGood luck my American and Ukrainian friends!

Trump is much like someone with mental illness becoming an arsonist. He wants to burn things. He will burn his VPs. He will burn his friends. He will burn his allies. He burns the closest of ties. He is actively burning his own supports, one group at a time. He is an arsonist of sorts. He likes to watch things burn...

Trump will not be your dictator forever. We want to be friends with Americans not enemies.