After President Donald Trump attacked Canada and its prime minister, Mark Carney, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, some Republicans are urging the United States' neighbor to not listen to the president.
As Semafor reported Wednesday, Trump made repeated comments denigrating Canada and its leader, saying Canada "should be grateful" to the U.S. for getting "a lot of freebies." He also asserted that Canada "lives because of the United States." The president's comments came on the heels of Carney's speech in which he lamented "the breaking of the world order," effectively laying blame at Trump's feet (without uttering his name) for the U.S. no longer being seen as a reliable, stable democracy.
Several House Republicans told Semafor that they hope Canada won't walk away entirely to the U.S., with Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) insisting that Trump's remarks should be seen as "just a blip."
"Our relationship is inseparable — and we may have disagreement, but again, the people of Canada and the people of the United States have so much in common, it’s an understatement," Wilson said.
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) also stressed that lawmakers shouldn't "be in the business of responding to every single comment [Trump] makes, and reiterated that Canada was "an important ally" to the United States. He also extended that same sentiment toward other European countries Trump has threatened.
"Generally, across the board, I think our allies should all know that we’re going to stand with them," Fitzpatrick said. "That includes Denmark; it includes NATO; it includes Greenland; it includes everybody."
Even more pro-Trump Republicans made efforts to distance themselves from Trump's remarks. Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.) argued that the U.S. needed to "show strength but also be diplomatic, particularly when it comes to our allies." Rep. John Moolenar (R-Mich.), who chairs the House Select Committee on China, told Semafor: "The US and Canada have great opportunities to collaborate in the area of critical minerals and rare earths and lessen our dependence on China ... I’m confident our countries will work through these differences."
