Doug Ford to Donald Trump: ‘Bring it on, buddy’

Ontario premier calls U.S. president a 'bully' and 'the king of bankruptcies' as trade war heats up with spicy barbs

Published Aug 24, 2026  •  3 minute read

U.S. President Donald Trump, left, and Ontario Premier Doug Ford. Photo by Andrew Harnik/Chris Young /AP Photo/The Canadian Press

See more Toronto Sun on Google — save as a Preferred Source

Article content

As the trade war between the United States and Canada escalates, a war of words is developing between Ontario Premier Doug Ford and United States President Donald Trump.  

Article content

Article content

“You know something, I have been in this game a lot longer than he has, and I have skin on me like an alligator, and do you think an insult from him hurts me?” Ford told reporters in Hamilton on Monday afternoon. “Well, bring it on, buddy. I am ready. I have dealt with guys like you my whole life. And guess what? You all become losers, because you are a loser.” 

Ford said those words in response to a post on Truth Social by Trump when the premier was speaking at a news conference in Hamilton.  

Trump’s Truth Social post. SCREENSHOT

“Lots of “bluster” from Doug Ford, who is the Premier of the Canadian Province of Ontario, but who is better known as the less charismatic, less intelligent, overall unimpressive brother of the late, great Rob Ford,” Trump said on his Truth Social app.

Rob Ford, the ex-mayor of Toronto, died in 2016 from cancer. 

Article content

Article content

Originally, Ford was in Hamilton announcing the province’s plan to broaden the eligibility for the Protect Ontario Financing Program to protect impacted workers and businesses targeted by new US-imposed tariffs. 

When trade talks broke down between the two nations on Friday, Trump added a 50% tariff on dairy, alcoholic beverages, electronics, telecommunication equipment, furniture, lumber, cement, plastics, clothing, and sporting goods. 

Trump also hinted that Ford should “fall in line” with all these “other clowns.” He also called Ford a ‘flunky” for Prime Minister Mark Carney.  

U.S. President Donald Trump. A sassy war of words is developing between Trump and Ontario Premier Doug Ford. Photo by (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

‘King of bankruptcies’

“I don’t respond to a dictator like president Trump, a bully like president Trump,” Ford said. “As I said before, he is the type of guy in school who would take your lunch money one day, take your touque off your head the next day and then steal your running shoes. I am not going to take any advice from a guy that is the king of bankruptcies. And he is actually tariffing his own people, taxing his own people.” 

Article content

Ford says the province will hit back with every tool in the toolbox to make Trump and Americans feel the pain.  

The two-term leader of the Ontario Conservatives sees this tariff battle in a couple of ways.  

“We have two choices,” he said. “We either roll back and let (Trump) take over our country, watch the steel sector bleed out, watch the auto sector bleed out, (watch) the auto part manufacturers bleed out. That is his game and we are not going to play his game. Folks, we are an economic powerhouse, make no mistake about it, and he says he doesn’t need Canada.” 

Voting advice

Ford also suggested the president was in trouble with the voting electorate come the U.S. midterms in early November.  

“I have a message for the Americans: don’t vote for a person that is going to kill your jobs,” Ford said. “He ran on creating more jobs, and the last time I checked jobs went down in the U.S while Ontario created more jobs. He ran on reducing the costs of everything. Last time I checked, food is expensive down there. Homes are more expensive and the reason homes are more expensive is because a tariff on our lumber (as) 33% of all homes built in the U.S. use Canadian lumber. 

Your own people, president Trump, don’t even like you and they are going to speak loud and clear when it comes to the midterms. And if I was allowed to, I would be door-knocking.” 

[email protected]

RECOMMENDED VIDEO

Article content