Trump slams Canadian anti-tariff ad that invoked Ronald Reagan as ‘possibly AI’

President Donald Trump criticized a controversial Canadian anti-tariff advertisement late Friday, calling it “crooked” and “dishonest” and suggesting that its excerpts from former President Ronald Reagan’s speech may have been generated using artificial intelligence.

The advertisement, sponsored by Ontario’s provincial government, uses real but spliced moments from an April 1987 Reagan address about imposing tariffs on Japan to criticize U.S. tariffs.

In response, Trump announced Thursday that he was ending all trade negotiations with Canada.

“Canada lied,” Trump told reporters Friday as he prepared to depart for an Asia trip. “They made up a fake statement by President Reagan. Reagan was a big supporter of tariffs when needed. We need tariffs for national security, and they totally turned it around because they’re getting hurt by tariffs, and we’re gaining by tariffs.”

Trump continued, “Reagan liked tariffs and when necessary, he would use tariffs, It’s made us a very rich country. It’s also made us, when it was used against us, not good for us. But we’ve used them very successfully.”

The Reagan Presidential Foundation also condemned the ad, calling it unauthorized and a misrepresentation of Reagan’s views. The foundation indicated it is pursuing legal options over the use of the audio.

Trump echoed these concerns, accusing Canada of trying to influence an upcoming U.S. Supreme Court decision on his sweeping tariff agenda.

Earlier this year, Trump raised the import tax on Canada to 35 percent.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Friday that he would pull the ad to allow trade talks to resume, following discussions with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.

However, Ford said the ad would continue running through the weekend, including during the first World Series games between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Los Angeles Dodgers, which Trump called “fraud” and “dirty playing.”

“I can play dirtier than they can,” Trump told reporters Friday.

Ford said the campaign’s goal was to spark dialogue about the impact of tariffs on workers and businesses.

“We’ve achieved our goal, having reached U.S. audiences at the highest levels,” Ford said in a statement Friday. “Our intention was always to initiate a conversation about the kind of economy that Americans want to build and the impact of tariffs on workers and businesses.”