‘Someone Hide His Phone!’: Trump Tries to Flex on World Leader with Revenge Threat —Then Accidentally Humiliates Himself by Forgetting One Key Detail
President Donald Trump’s bully pulpit has become a daily exercise in unpredictability, with allies and adversaries alike waking up to find out what, or whom, he has decided to take aim at next.
On Monday, the president’s erratic impulses leapt beyond trade wars and tariff threats and landed squarely on Canadian infrastructure that exists in large part because Trump himself once pushed it forward.
The target of Trump’s latest fury is the Gordie Howe International Bridge, a long-planned crossing between Detroit and Windsor that he now threatens to block unless Canada hands over control and compensation.
The demand appears to overlook a key detail: Trump previously signed off on the very deal that made the project possible, leaving him effectively railing against something he once backed as if it were someone else’s mistake.
Trump issued the threat Monday in a sprawling Truth Social post accusing Canada of treating the United States “very unfairly for decades” and warning that he would not allow the bridge to open unless the U.S. was “fully compensated.”
He also demanded ownership, writing, “With all that we have given them, we should own, perhaps, at least one half of this asset.”
The post veered from trade grievances to cultural absurdity, claiming that if Canada pursued closer economic ties with China, “The first thing China will do is terminate ALL Ice Hockey being played in Canada, and permanently eliminate The Stanley Cup.”
The Gordie Howe International Bridge, named for a Canadian hockey legend who spent 25 seasons with the Detroit Red Wings, is expected to open in the coming months after years of construction delays. Work began in 2018 under an agreement negotiated by former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, a Republican. The project has been entirely paid for by the Canadian government to ease congestion at the Ambassador Bridge and Detroit-Windsor Tunnel.
Trump complained that Canada used “virtually no U.S. content” and blamed former President Barack Obama for granting a waiver from the Buy American Act. In his post, Trump wrote: “President Barack Hussein Obama stupidly gave them a waiver so they could get around the BUY AMERICAN Act, and not use any American products, including our Steel.” He added, “What does the United States of America get — Absolutely NOTHING!”
But Trump’s own record undercuts the attack. While the Obama administration granted the initial presidential permit allowing construction, Trump endorsed the bridge during his first term, calling it a priority infrastructure project. In 2017, Trump and then–Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued a joint statement describing it as a “vital economic link between our two countries” and saying they “look forward to the expeditious completion” of the project.
It is also unclear how Trump could actually block the bridge’s opening. The White House has not commented.
The outburst comes as U.S.-Canada relations have grown increasingly tense during Trump’s second term. The United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement is up for review this year, and Trump has taken a hard-line posture ahead of talks, including issuing new tariff threats.
The threat comes on the heels of an ongoing feud between Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who has spoken out against economic coercion by the United States, earning praise abroad and Trump’s ire at home.
Carney took a clear swipe at Trump at the World Economic Forum in Davos, warning that powerful countries are abusing their influence by using trade, tariffs, and economic pressure to bully others. He said the global rules-based order is breaking down and stressed that if countries like Canada aren’t actively involved in shaping decisions, they risk being steamrolled by bigger, more aggressive powers.
It’s a message he later confirmed was very much intentional, and that set off Trump, triggering his decision to rescind his invitation to the neighboring country to his “Board of Peace.”
On social media, critics mocked Trump with nursing home references after Monday’s over-the-rails rant.
One wrote, “It’s like he was briefed but didn’t catch it all and misunderstood most and then spouts off what he thinks he heard, filling in the gaps with grandpa stuff.” Another added, “Someone hide his phone. Now. And just tell him it’s misplaced. Good….. Lord.” A third quipped, “He’s just a few weeks away from accusing his night nurse of stealing his money.”
Officials closer to the project were less amused. Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens called Trump’s threat “just insane.”
“It’s just insane, when I read that post I can’t believe what I’m reading, but it’s par for the course,” Dilkens said, adding that some of Trump’s claims were flatly wrong. American steel, he noted, was used on the U.S. side of the bridge.
Michigan Democrats warned that Trump’s posture would boomerang on his own voters. Sen. Elissa Slotkin called the bridge a “huge boon” for the state’s economy. “You’ll be able to move cargo from Montreal to Miami without ever stopping at a street light,” Slotkin told The Associated Press. “So to shoot yourself in the foot and threaten the Gordie Howe Bridge means that this guy has completely lost the plot on what’s good for us versus just what’s spite against the Canadians.”
Slotkin later wrote on X that Trump’s threat to “tank” the bridge punishes Michigan residents “for a trade war he started,” warning, “Canceling this project will have serious repercussions. Higher costs for Michigan businesses, less secure supply chains, and ultimately, fewer jobs.”
Despite Trump’s rhetoric, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s office signaled confidence that the project will move forward.
“It’s going to open one way or another, and the governor looks forward to attending the ribbon cutting,” said Whitmer press secretary Stacey LaRouche. She added that the bridge is “good for Michigan workers and it’s good for Michigan’s auto industry.”
Canadian voices echoed that message. Former Liberal MP Irek Kusmierczyk said workers from both countries built the bridge for “shared prosperity,” writing that “Threatening to block it puts politics ahead of workers and families on both sides of the border.” Stephen Hargreaves, director of the Sandwich Town BIA near the bridge site, said, “It was a surprise to read that this evening,” adding, “But we hope to see this resolved as we’d like to see the impact of the Gordie Howe International Bridge positively impact our community.”
The bridge, now projected to cost $6.4 billion, will be the third border crossing between Detroit and Windsor and the only one allowing pedestrian and bicycle traffic. Canada agreed to finance, build, and operate it under a 2012 agreement after years of legal battles and resistance on the U.S. side — including opposition from the owners of the existing Ambassador Bridge, who unsuccessfully appealed to Trump during his first term.