QUEBEC CITY, Quebec (Reuters) - The United States and Canada swung sharply toward a diplomatic and trade crisis on Sunday as top White House advisers lashed out at Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau a day after U.S. President Trump called him “very dishonest and weak.”
The spat drew in Germany and France, who sharply criticized Trump’s decision to abruptly withdraw his support for a Group of Seven communique hammered out at a Canadian summit on Saturday, accusing him of destroying trust and acting inconsistently.
“Canada does not conduct its diplomacy through ad hominem attacks ... and we refrain particularly from ad hominem attacks when it comes to a close ally,” Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland told reporters on Sunday.
Freeland reiterated Canada will retaliate to U.S. tariffs in a measured and reciprocal way, adding Canada will always be willing to talk.
White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow accused Trudeau of betraying Trump with “polarizing” statements on trade policy that risked making the U.S. leader look weak ahead of a historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Trump arrived in Singapore on Sunday for the summit that could lay the groundwork for ending a nuclear stand-off between the old foes.
“(Trudeau) really kind of stabbed us in the back,” Kudlow, the director of the National Economic Council who had accompanied Trump to Canada, said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
Trade adviser Peter Navarro told “Fox News Sunday” that “there is a special place in hell for any leader that engages in bad faith diplomacy” with Trump.
Trudeau, in Quebec City for bilateral meetings with non-G7 leaders after the summit, did not comment as he arrived.
Trudeau got direct personal support from some European leaders.
British Prime Minister Theresa
