Trump Named the ‘Stupidest Man’ Who Has Ever Held Office

A former Trump administration official has launched a blistering attack on President Donald Trump as tensions between the United States and Canada spill into an increasingly unusual fight over Canada’s growing relationship with Europe.

Miles Taylor, who served as chief of staff at the Department of Homeland Security during Trump’s first administration, accused the president of bullying America’s closest allies in a Substack post published Thursday.

Taylor’s criticism came as Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney wrapped up a closely watched trip to Europe and embraced efforts to dramatically deepen Canada’s relationship with the European Union.

“Canada is demonstrating, for every democracy watching, that the response to Trump’s bullying should be neither submission nor hysteria… but the calm construction of alternatives,” Taylor wrote in his newsletter DEFIANCE.

He argued that countries traditionally close to Washington are looking for new partnerships because of the growing friction with the Trump administration.

Taylor’s full column can be read on his original Substack page here: Canada is showing the world how to defy Donald Trump

His language toward Trump was intensely personal and sharply critical, with Taylor questioning the president’s judgment and competence.

The remarks are opinion, not an independent assessment of Trump’s abilities. But the diplomatic dispute Taylor was writing about is very real.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stunned European lawmakers this week by proposing that Canada become the European Union’s first-ever “associate member.”

The designation does not currently exist in EU treaties and its exact legal meaning remains unresolved. Any final arrangement would require further negotiation and support from European governments.

Carney nevertheless welcomed the broader idea of a much deeper partnership.

Speaking before the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Thursday, the Canadian leader called for stronger cooperation with Europe in areas including defense, artificial intelligence, critical minerals, energy and financial services.

Canada’s government said the goal is to build greater “strategic autonomy, resilience and sovereignty” by diversifying its international relationships.

The shift comes amid a worsening trade dispute between Ottawa and Washington.

The Trump administration imposed 50% tariffs on specified Canadian goods beginning in August after accusing Canada of discriminatory trade practices involving products including dairy, alcohol and vehicles.

Canada responded with its own counter-tariffs of 15%, 25% and 50% on $27.6 billion worth of U.S. imports beginning September 8. Ottawa said those measures were designed to match the American tariffs “dollar for dollar.”

Washington has since gone further.

Trump signed proclamations directing that certain Canadian dairy products, alcoholic beverages and motor-vehicle-related goods be barred from entering the United States beginning September 29.

Those bans apply to specified products listed in the administration’s proclamations rather than all Canadian imports in those categories.

Trump has also repeatedly floated the idea of Canada becoming America’s “51st state,” remarks that Canadian leaders have rejected.

The European proposal appears to have irritated the president even further.

Asked Wednesday about Canada potentially becoming an EU associate member, Trump called Canada a “terrible trade partner” and warned that he could impose heavy tariffs on Europe or halt trade in some areas if he concluded the arrangement was intended as a hostile move against the United States.

Carney responded indirectly during his European Parliament appearance by emphasizing Canada’s right to forge its own partnerships.

According to the Canadian government, Ottawa and Brussels are now discussing a relationship going well beyond their existing CETA free-trade agreement, including closer cooperation on defense, technology, energy security, AI and critical minerals.

Another flashpoint is Lake Ontario.

Trump signed Executive Order 14422 on August 27 directing U.S. federal agencies to refer to Lake Ontario as “Lake America” and ordering the Interior Department and Board on Geographic Names to update federal records.

The order can change how the U.S. federal government labels the lake, but it does not compel Canada or international organizations to stop using the name Lake Ontario. The lake is shared by New York and the Canadian province of Ontario.

That distinction is important because some reports have described Trump as simply changing the lake’s name everywhere.

Canada has rejected the U.S. designation and continues to refer to the body of water as Lake Ontario.

Meanwhile, Europe’s proposal to Canada remains just that — a proposal.

Von der Leyen has suggested creating an unprecedented associate-member relationship, but the concept is not currently established under EU treaties and European governments would still have to work out exactly what privileges and obligations such a status would carry.

The next major milestone could come this fall.

Canada and the European Union are scheduled to hold their next summit in Canada on October 29 and 30, when officials are expected to continue negotiations over deeper economic and strategic ties.

For Taylor, however, the meaning of this week’s developments is already clear.

His argument is that Trump’s confrontational approach toward allies is encouraging countries such as Canada to build alternatives to their longstanding dependence on the United States.

The Trump administration has taken the opposite view, arguing that its tariffs and trade measures are necessary responses to what it describes as unfair Canadian trade practices.

What remains uncertain is how far Canada’s European pivot will actually go — and whether the proposed new relationship with the EU evolves into a formal status or something less sweeping.