Jeff Timmer, a longtime Republican official who opposes Donald Trump, says the Canadian government will need to treat Trump as “the guy in charge” to protect its interests.
According to a well-known Republican opponent of the incoming president, Ottawa may have to allow U.S. President-elect Donald Trump to serve as the “senior partner” in the Canada-U.S. relationship, even if doing so makes Canadians “bristle.”
In order to protect Canada’s interests during what is anticipated to be a protectionist U.S. administration, Jeff Timmer, a longtime Republican official and strategist in Michigan who assisted in spearheading efforts to defeat Trump in the previous two U.S. elections, says the Canadian government will need to treat Trump as “the guy in charge.”
In an interview that aired on The West Block on Sunday, he told Mercedes Stephenson, “I think Donald Trump is an easy guy to read and an easy guy to play poker with.” “You must treat him the way he prefers to be treated.”
Donald Trump wants to portray the United States as the senior partner in the cooperation between the two countries, even though I realize it’s unfair to place this on Canadians. Although it could irritate Canadians, it might serve their purposes.
Under a Trump administration, Canada is anticipated to experience disproportionate pressure on immigration, defense expenditure, and cross-border commerce. The federal government claims that after months of preparation for the potential return of Trump to the White House, Canada is prepared to manage any effects on those and other files.
On Friday, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said she is certain that her government’s support for the United States on Chinese tariffs would provide Canada with a “firm foundation” in future trade talks.
Canada may be spared from Trump’s projected blanket duties on foreign imports in his second term, she added, because previous trade fights during the first Trump administration demonstrated that neither nation profits from tariffs on cross-border products.
According to Timmer, there is “no doubt that Trump is going to continue to hold NATO’s allies’ feet to the fire” about their pledge to provide at least 2% of GDP to defense.
That will probably be a weak point for Canada, which has stated that it won’t meet the goal until 2032, even if there are new questions about the government’s strategy.
However, given the worldwide issues that are causing more people to migrate to North America, Timmer stated that Canada must solve immigration issues before Trump even takes office in January.
Every nation in North America, including the US, Canada, and Mexico, should be extremely concerned about the flood of immigrants coming from their southern borders, he added.
Timmer was the chief operations officer and campaign manager for The Lincoln Project, a group of veteran Republican strategists determined to defeat Trump, during this year’s race. It was one of several Republican organizations that allied themselves with former members of Trump’s first cabinet and GOP politicians who backed U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris.
Timmer claimed that while Trump’s triumph wasn’t shocking in and of itself, the magnitude of it was “a shock to the system.” For the first time in his three presidential campaigns, Trump won the popular vote. According to exit polls, he gained support from younger and less educated voters while also appealing to almost every traditional Democratic constituency, especially Black and Hispanic males.
Timmer cited a 1992 statement credited to James Carville, a strategist in Bill Clinton’s victorious first presidential campaign when asked why he believed Trump won so easily: “It’s the economy, stupid.”
Because they still have an impact, particularly on older white voters, I believe the economy provided older, wealthier white voters with the cover they needed to somewhat conceal their sexism and xenophobia, Timmer said.
Even if the economy is doing well overall, some people aren’t. These are the younger white voters, younger Black voters, and younger Latino men who are starting their professions after graduating from college or high school and are experiencing more challenging economic conditions than those encountered by earlier generations.
According to Timmer, there will probably be “a lot of chaos, a lot of misdirection, a lot of stumbles, a lot of overplaying his hand” associated with a second Trump administration overall.
The extent to which Republicans will dominate Congress will determine how far Trump can carry out his agenda, which includes a planned mass deportation, industry deregulation, and restructuring of government institutions, he continued.
Republicans claimed to have won the U.S. Senate, but as ballots continue to be counted in close contests, it may take longer to decide the outcome in the U.S. House, where Republicans have a slim majority.
The Democrats still have a chance to seize power, which would significantly impact Trump’s and the Republicans’ capabilities, Timmer stated.