Donald Trump has hit out at Canada’s decision to recognise the state of Palestine as the countries negotiate a trade deal, taking to Truth Social with a fresh tirade
Donald Trump says that it will be “very hard” to make a trade deal with Canada in a 15 word rant after they became the latest country to recognise a Palestinian state.
Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada would make the symbolic move in September to accept Palestine as an independent state which was the part of a broader global shift against Israel’s policies in Gaza. Carney convened a Cabinet meeting to discuss the situation in the battered Palestinian territory. He said it came after he discussed the crisis with Keir Starmer who announced a similar move for the UK on Tuesday.
But Trump has taken a swipe at the move and oddly connected it with the possibility of a trade deal between the US and Canada. Writing on his Truth Social social media account, Trump said: “Wow! Canada has just announced that it is backing statehood for Palestine. That will make it very hard for us to make a Trade Deal with them. Oh’ Canada!!!” It comes after a lip reader revealed exactly what Donald Trump and Keir Starmer said to each other on the golf course.
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His threat comes with Canada set to face 35% tariffs on most goods it sells to the US from tomorrow, August 1, with the onus on a deal being sorted out today.
Carney confirmed on Wednesday that trade negotiations had still not been agreed. “It is possible that [negotiations] may not conclude by August 1,” Carney told a news conference. “But we’ll see with the teams there. We’re working hard.”
A White House official said Trump’s own position on Palestinian statehood would not change and that he is instead focused on providing food aid in Gaza. The official spoke on condition of anonymity with AP to discuss Trump’s stand.
“As the President stated, he would be rewarding Hamas if he recognizes a Palestinian state, and he doesn’t think they should be rewarded,” the official said.
Leaders are under mounting pressure over the issue as scenes of hunger in Gaza have horrified so many across the world. “The level of human suffering in Gaza is intolerable,” Carney said.
“Canada intends to recognize the State of Palestine at the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in September 2025,” Carney said — a move that he said was predicated on the Palestinian Authority “holding general elections in 2026 in which Hamas can play no part, and to demilitarize the Palestinian state.”
Carney said he’s “not in any way or shape minimizing that scale of that task,” though he added it was clearly “not a possibility in the near term.” He continued: “Much has to happen before a democratic viable state is established.”
Pressure to formally recognize Palestinian statehood has increased since French President Emmanuel Macron announced last week that his country will become the first major Western power to recognize a Palestinian state in September. Carney said he spoke to Marcon on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, Starmer said Britain would recognize a state of Palestine before the UN General Assembly in September, “unless the Israeli government takes substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza, agree to a ceasefire and commit to a long-term, sustainable peace, reviving the prospect of a two-state solution.”
Carney said Canada is working with other states “to preserve the possibility of a two-state solution, to not allow the facts on the ground, deaths on the ground, the settlements on the ground, the expropriations on the ground, to get to such an extent that this is not possible.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government rejects a two-state solution on nationalistic and security grounds.