The news media said they caught President Trump admitting to lying after he reportedly told a group of supporters at a private fundraiser that he free-wheeled trade talks with Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau without knowing all the facts.
The Washington Post reported Wednesday night that Trump on the same day told a crowd at a fundraiser in Missouri that he “didn’t know” whether the U.S. had a trade deficit with Canada but that he told Trudeau that it did.
“ … So, he’s proud. I said, ‘Wrong, Justin, you do,’” Trump said, according to the Post. “I didn’t even know. … I had no idea. I just said, ‘You’re wrong.’ You know why? Because we’re so stupid. … And I thought they were smart. I said, ‘You’re wrong, Justin.’ He said, ‘Nope, we have no trade deficit.’ I said, ‘Well, in that case, I feel differently,’ I said, ‘but I don’t believe it.’ I sent one of our guys out, his guy, my guy, they went out, I said, ‘Check, because I can’t believe it.’”
The Post said Trump’s remarks revealed he had “made up information” in his meeting with Trudeau.
Michael Grunwald of Politico said the report showed that “Trump says out loud what we all know: He just makes stuff up. A challenge for journalism I don’t know how to solve.”
“Even Nixon didn’t publicly boast about his lies,” tweeted MSNBC analyst and former Time magazine editor Richard Stengel.
Even Nixon didn’t publicly boast about his lies. Plus, Trump was wrong: we don’t have a trade deficit with Canada. Trade before security and Trump before all. https://t.co/akFpWI1mhj
— Richard Stengel (@stengel) March 15, 2018
CNN’s Chris Cuomo said on “New Day” that the report “captured the president boasting about lying…”
Further into his remarks, however, Trump indicated he was referring only to goods traded between the U.S. and Canada, for which data from the U.S. International Trade Commission shows that in 2017 the U.S. had a trade deficit of $17.5 billion.
When services and goods are combined, the U.S. has a trade surplus with Canada. The Office of the United States Trade Representative website says, “The U.S. goods and services trade surplus with Canada was $12.5 billion,” at least in 2016.
Trump appeared to be emphasizing the deficit on goods and omitting services that the U.S. exports to Canada.
“‘Well, sir, you’re actually right,’” Trump continued in his comments at the fundraiser, according to the Post. “‘We have no deficit, but that doesn’t include energy and timber. … And when you do, we lose $17 billion a year.’ It’s incredible.”
Trump defended himself in a tweet Thursday morning, and insisted the U.S. has a trade deficit with Canada, but again didn’t specifically say he was only talking about goods. “We do have a Trade Deficit with Canada, as we do with almost all countries (some of them massive). P.M. Justin Trudeau of Canada, a very good guy, doesn’t like saying that Canada has a Surplus vs. the U.S.(negotiating), but they do…they almost all do…and that’s how I know!”
Washington Post reporter Josh Dawsey said the newspaper has the audio of President Trump saying he made up facts about a trade deficit with Canada in a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. https://t.co/9Ebg6qYwhP pic.twitter.com/CQ6o9hLpnQ
— New Day (@NewDay) March 15, 2018
