'The math does not add up': Fact checker finds Trump claim 'makes little sense'
Raw StoryA fact-checker found little evidence to support Donald Trump's claim about the U.S. subsidizing Canada to the tune of hundreds of billions. "We’re spending $200 billion a year to subsidize Canada," Trump said, arguing that Canadians should agree to join the United States. Trade-deficit numbers are influenced by a variety of factors, Kessler said, and even a booming economy and strong currency can be at fault because that means consumers have more money and buying power to purchase goods from overseas, but the fact-checker decided to look at the U.S. trade deficit with Canada just for the sake of argument and found it was one of the smallest despite being its second-biggest trading partner. "So the trade deficit only gets Trump about one-quarter of his $200 billion," he added. "Since becoming president again, Trump has claimed more than a half-dozen times that the United States provides a $200 billion annual 'subsidy' to Canada," Kessler wrote.
History of this topic
Fact check: Trump wildly exaggerates trade deficits with Canada, Mexico, China and the EU
CNN
Fact-check: Trump’s Super Bowl LIX interview with Fox’s Bret Baier
Al Jazeera
Donald Trump insists his global trade war will be 'worth the pain' to create a 'golden age of America' as backlash grows from countries targeted by his tariffs
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‘Worth The Price’: Trump Justifies Tariffs, Says Canada Wouldn't Exist As 'Viable Country' Without US Subsidy
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Trump's trade war is making Americans' incomes decrease, government report says
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AP FACT CHECK: Trump’s trade theories don’t hold water
Associated Press
Trump owns up to making things up
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