President Donald Trump Branded a 'Petulant Child' by Self-Described 'Unpatriotic' 'USA Today' Columnist: 'I'm Rooting for Canada in This Insipid Trade War'

Rex Huppke criticized President Donald Trump over his escalating trade dispute with Canada, pointing to the country's response as a striking contrast to the reaction in the United States.

"At the risk of sounding unpatriotic, I'm rooting for our neighbors to the north," Huppke wrote in his September 8 column for USA Today.

Huppke, who previously called Trump a "petulant child," focused on Canada’s response as Trump escalated the dispute, including with a series of provocative social media posts over Labor Day weekend.

Trump shared dozens of AI-generated images and videos on Truth Social, including material depicting himself with robots, a hockey-themed image involving Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and a map suggesting American control over Canada and the wider continent.

Trump also announced that Canadian aerospace company Bombardier could no longer sell its planes in the United States. Huppke's reaction was blunt: he said Trump "sounds like an ill-mannered 8-year-old having a temper tantrum."

The columnist questioned the practicality of the move, noting Bombardier's deep economic ties to the United States.

Carney had already made clear that Canada was prepared to resume serious trade discussions once Washington became serious about negotiations.

Speaking about the dispute on September 1, the Canadian prime minister said serious negotiations could resume "when the Americans stop doing memes, stop throwing shade, stop trying to be tough." The remarks were reported by CTV News and cited by Huppke in his column.

Huppke responded with another colorful description of Trump, calling him "the addled artificial intelligence meme lord of America" and writing that Carney saw through the president's rhetoric.

The standoff has already carried economic consequences, with Canada imposing retaliatory tariffs on U.S. imports following Washington's measures.

Huppke cited polling that showed substantial Canadian support for Carney's handling of the negotiations.

A poll conducted for The Globe and Mail found that 85 percent of respondents supported or somewhat supported Carney rejecting a proposed trade agreement with the Trump administration. 80 percent also supported or somewhat supported Canada's retaliatory tariffs.

"Those are eye-popping numbers," Huppke wrote. He then contrasted that level of agreement with the political divisions Americans face.

Huppke's criticism eventually moved beyond Canada and toward the Americans watching Trump from home.

He asked why journalists were not "constantly asking questions about Trump's erratic behavior," including his decision to launch the trade fight with Canada and his repeated use of AI-generated material on social media.

He followed that with an even broader challenge to the American public, asking why so many people remained unwilling to acknowledge what he believed was plainly visible.

"That's not an opinion. That is a glaringly obvious fact to anyone paying attention," Huppke wrote after declaring that Trump was not behaving normally.

He then pressed journalists to keep Trump's conduct at the center of their coverage rather than treating each new episode as an isolated controversy.

"Questions about his abnormal conduct should always be on the tips of journalists' tongues," Huppke wrote.