Trump slams Trudeau for using tariffs, fentanyl crisis to stay in power

US President Donald Trump after a telephonic conversation with Canadian Prime Minister on trade war accused Justin Trudeau of trying to "use the issue to stay in power."

The details of the call were shared by Trump in a post on a social media platform, Truth Social.

Trump said, " He (Trudeau) was unable to tell me when the Canadian Election is taking place, which made me curious, like, what's going on here? I then realized he is trying to use this issue to stay in power."

The US President said he highlighted the loss of lives due to fentanyl, which "came through the Borders of Canada and Mexico".

The US President said that nothing has convinced him that the smuggling of Fentanyl has stopped and said that the conversation between the two ended in a "somewhat" friendly manner.

"Justin Trudeau, of Canada, called me to ask what could be done about Tariffs. I told him that many people have died from Fentanyl that came through the Borders of Canada and Mexico, and nothing has convinced me that it has stopped. He said that it's gotten better, but I said, "That's not good enough." The call ended in a "somewhat" friendly manner! He was unable to tell me when the Canadian Election is taking place, which made me curious, like, what's going on here? I then realized he is trying to use this issue to stay in power. Good luck Justin!" Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Trump also said that he told the Canada PM that it is because of Trudeau's "weak border policies" that tremendous amounts of fentanyl and "illegal aliens" have made their way into the United States.

"For anyone who is interested, I also told Governor Justin Trudeau of Canada that he largely caused the problems we have with them because of his Weak Border Policies, which allowed tremendous amounts of Fentanyl, and Illegal Aliens, to pour into the United States. These Policies are responsible for the death of many people!," Trump added.

As per CNN, US President Donald Trump's blanket 25 per cent tariffs on Mexico and Canada took effect on Tuesday. Trump also doubled the tariff on all Chinese imports to 20 per cent from 10 per cent. Those duties sit atop existing tariffs on hundreds of billions in Chinese goods. China and Canada immediately retaliated with tariffs on American goods, threatening to ignite a damaging trade war, CNN reported.

On Wednesday however, Trump has granted an exemption on auto tariffs on Mexico and Canada for one month, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed Wednesday, as reported by CNN.