Doug Ford responds to Trump’s Lake Ontario taunt: ‘A lot of rhetoric’

Ontario Premier Doug Ford dismissed President Trump’s Tuesday threat to rename a Canadian lake in honor of the U.S., a day after the pair publicly exchanged insults amid an escalating trade fight between the two countries.

“I think it’s a lot of rhetoric,” Ford told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, noting Canada’s role as a “number one customer” for more than a dozen U.S. states.

“We’re strong believers in being a sovereign country, and when President Trump wants to attack our sovereignty and attack our businesses and people in Ontario, I can’t roll over,” he said. “My job is to protect Ontario and Canada, and ironically, protecting the American people.”

The president wrote in a Truth Social post on Tuesday morning that his administration was “giving serious consideration” to renaming Lake Ontario to “Lake America” amid the trade war between the U.S. and Canada.

Trump added that he did not “expect to be doing much business with Ontario any longer.”

The post followed Trump’s earlier move to impose 50 percent tariffs on Canadian goods.

Ford lashed out at these levies on Monday, reiterating his threat to cut the province’s power exports to U.S. states. Ontario’s power grid directly connects to Michigan, New York and Minnesota.

“We power 1.5 million homes and businesses. Everything’s on the table. I’ll do whatever it takes,” the Canadian official told reporters.

Ford called on both sides of the fight to bring down the temperature on Tuesday, acknowledging in his interview with CNN that “things got a little heated” between him and the president.

“Let’s negotiate a fair deal because it’s hurting the U.S. It’s hurting Canada, and we just want to make sure that we have a fair deal,” he said.

Canada announced Tuesday retaliatory tariffs of up to 50 percent on a wide range of U.S. goods that will go into effect on Sept. 8. This came after Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s statement last week that the country would match the U.S. tariffs “dollar for dollar.”

Ford told CNN that the U.S. tariffs ultimately harm Americans.

“I do not understand why he wants to attack Canada nonstop,” he said. “We’re the closest friends and allies, and make no mistake about it, Canadians still love the American people. They love the U.S.”