Former Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) says he doesn’t understand President Trump’s seemingly adversarial attitude toward Canada, including his launching a tariff fight and taunting the U.S.’s ally to the north about becoming the “51st state.”
“I think the unintended consequences of what he’s doing right now are going to hurt his overall agenda,” Buck, who was known for breaking with his party on various issues before resigning from Congress last year, said Wednesday night on CNN’s “Erin Burnett OutFront.”
“You’ve got elections in Canada in the near future, and those elections are directly affected by his tariffs and his surge in in populism and in patriotism in Canada,” Buck added.
Still, the former GOP lawmaker said he appreciates the president’s hard stance on China, which is also on the receiving end of Trump’s tariff tear.
“I get what he’s trying to do with China … China is an adversary in the Pacific Rim,” Buck said. “But you get there by making sure that your allies are on board with you, not by making them mad over, what? I don’t — I can’t understand the Canadian tariffs.”
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has pushed back on the U.S. with retaliatory tariffs and additional restrictions on American products in Canada.
“We should be working together to ensure even greater prosperity for North Americans in a very uncertain and challenging world,” Trudeau said Tuesday.
Trump’s tariff plan has been a roller coaster with ongoing negotiations, delays and carveouts.
Buck told CNN he isn’t surprised by Trump’s quick policy shifts. The Colorado Republican, who publicly tussled with the GOP while in office, has previously cited congressional dysfunction among his reasons for leaving office early last year after nine years in the House.
“I think it’s part of President Trump’s theater or certainly his style, to make a lot of bold claims. And then some of them he will act on, and some of them he will back off of,” Buck said Wednesday.
He pointed to the ongoing war in Ukraine and Trump’s threats to stop aid the country needs to fend off attacks from Russia.
“We can’t go this alone,” Buck said of Trump’s treatment of allies. “The ‘America First’ idea of isolationism doesn’t work when you’re talking about international trade. We have to make sure that our actions in the Ukraine war situation, in the tariff situation with our neighbors, we have to bring countries together to — to really deal with a very concerning adversary in China.”
