Ohio Rally Crowd Hears Obama Jokes on Canada as Trump Moves to Cut Some Levies

Former president Barack Obama appeared at a Cleveland rally for Democratic candidates on Saturday and mocked the administration's trade posture toward Canada, calling it "that well-known evil empire: Canada." He noted Canada's exports to American culture, including maple syrup and actor Martin Short, and called Canadians "the nicest people." Obama, who has been campaigning for Democratic candidates ahead of the midterms, said he did not understand why Donald Trump would "pick a fight" with "our friendly neighbours to the north."

Obama also said the tariffs imposed by Trump have raised costs for American consumers, echoing the concerns economists and voters have raised about household expenses.

On Friday, Trump said he plans to lift tariffs on some Canadian products. The announcement came after months of retaliatory measures between the two countries, which began after Trump launched a levy campaign last year. The stated targets were fentanyl trafficking and trade imbalances. Negotiations between the two sides stopped in August.

Canada's trade minister, Dominic LeBlanc, said on CBC's Power & Politics that Ottawa does not expect a deal before the Nov. 3 vote.

The higher costs have hurt Republican prospects in the midterms, especially in border states.

Trump has also targeted Canada at his own rallies. At a Kentucky stop on Oct. 17, he said, "At some point, we're making a deal that's gonna be amazing." He added, "But for years we've lost billions and billions of dollars, and they just felt so emboldened." The crowd cheered when he called former prime minister Justin Trudeau a "loser." He said of Mark Carney, "Your current guy's good … he's a nice guy, but he's not nice when it comes to trade. He said of Canada, "They're learning and they're suffering."