President Donald Trump on Friday called the smoke pollution from Canada’s wildfires affecting the United States from the Great Lakes to the mid-Atlantic “totally unacceptable” and said the costs the U.S. is incurring will be added to tariffs on Canada.
Trump took to Truth Social in the afternoon, after departing a very hazy Washington, DC, where a heavy smell of smoke is prevalent.
“We are holding Canada responsible for the fact that they are not properly maintaining their Forests, and Brush therein, and the United States is being unnecessarily invaded by filthy, polluted, and unhealthy air, the quality of which is dangerous, and totally unacceptable!” Trump said.
The president added that he will speak to Prime Minister Mark Carney, and that costs will be added to tariffs.
“I will call the Prime Minister during the day to find out what they are going to do about it. The cost is incalculable! Canada has refused to engage in basic Forest Management and Debris Removal, knowing that such refusal will lead to exactly this result,” Trump said.
“This is Willful Negligence, and becoming a yearly occurrence, costing the United States Billions of Dollars, which cost of this pollution must of necessity be added to the TARIFFS Canada is currently paying. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” he added.
Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) blasted Canada while responding to Trump’s post.
“Americans will not pay the price for the negligence of Canadian leaders. We must create a compensation fund for the victims of this atrocity. Four years in a row of record fires that have produced decades of environmental damage,” Moreno wrote in a Truth Social post.
“Further proof that you don’t have to be very smart to get elected as a liberal, you just have to be woke,” he added.
According to AccuWeather, as of midday Friday smoke affected the United States from the Great Lakes to the mid-Atlantic.
“As winds shift, alternating plumes of smoke and cleaner air will move southeastward into the Great Lakes region and the Northeast states through this weekend and into next week,” AccuWeather predicted.
“Shifting winds will bring back thick smoke and poor air quality to New England and New York on Saturday and then likely push it away on Sunday,” it added.
