Donald Trump explodes as US hit by ‘filthy, unclean invasion’ | US | News
Donald Trump has accused Canada of an “invasion” of “polluted and unhealthy air” after wildfires in the neighboring country sent thick smoke across the US and raised concerns about the venue of the FIFA World Cup Final.
The American President directly blamed Canada’s leadership in a post on Friday morning UK time, saying in a post on the Truth Social platform that the US “holds Canada responsible for not properly protecting its forests and the Brush there, and that the US has been unnecessarily invaded by polluted, polluted and unhealthy air, the quality of which is dangerous and completely unacceptable.”
“I will call the Prime Minister within the day and find out what they are going to do about it,” he added. “The cost of this is incalculable! Canada has refused to participate in essential Forest Management and Debris Clearance activities, knowing that such refusal would lead to exactly this outcome.”
He also threatened to impose additional tariffs on Canada for the weather, claiming: “This is Willful Neglect and is becoming an annual event, costing the United States Billions of Dollars and the cost of this pollution must necessarily be added to the tariffs Canada currently pays.”
This comes after hundreds of wildfires broke out across Canada in the past few days, with 888 of them actively burning as of Friday. 190 of them were in Ontario, which shares a wide 2,700-kilometer border with the United States, BBC News reported.
According to The Guardian, several US states, including North Carolina, Minnesota, Vermont, Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Delaware, West Virginia, Colorado, Virginia, Maryland, Washington DC, Michigan and Wisconsin, have been affected by heavy smoke as of Thursday, and air quality warnings have been issued for dozens of states.
President Trump’s comments came after all four Republican members of the House of Representatives representing Michigan, just across the Canadian border, blamed the Canadian government in a letter to Canadian prime minister Mark Carney: “If Canada does not manage its forests to prevent these fires, the United States will look elsewhere and act on its own to protect our people.”
Responding to the allegations on Thursday, Mr Carney said: “Tackling climate change is the responsibility of all countries, including the United States.”
Following the US President’s bombshell speech on social media, Canadian Emergency Management Minister Eleanor Olszewski noted the “long history” between the two countries of “working together to combat wildfires on both sides of the border.”
He said the Canadian government had pumped C$12bn (about £6.4bn) into forest sustainability and fire prevention work since 2020 in response to “increasingly common” hotter, drier weather.
“This is a challenge that knows no borders, and Canada is working with speed, collaboration and coordination to keep people safe,” he added.
Scientists have challenged the claim that it is due to failures by Canadian officials, noting the complex challenges of preventing wildfire risks in remote parts of Canada that have had to deal with naturally occurring fires for years.
Climte expert Dr. from the University of Waterloo. Anabela Bonada noted the impact of climate change, telling the BBC it was “a global problem and it would be wrong to suggest that Canada alone caused or could have prevented these bushfires.”
President Trump previously claimed “the carbon footprint is a hoax” in a speech at the UN last year, casting doubt on the effects of climate change despite consensus among experts about its risks.
Weather conditions have raised concerns about Sunday’s World Cup final at New Jersey’s outdoor MetLife Stadium, but forecasters believe conditions will improve with rain over the weekend ahead of kick-off at 8pm UK time.
