President Donald Trump said he hopes the conflict involving Iran is approaching its conclusion, while warning that Canada’s potential move to join the European Union could trigger sweeping new tariffs.
Trump made the comments while speaking with reporters on Wednesday, before heading to a planned event aimed at supporting Republican candidates in the midterm elections.
Questions soon turned to the continuing military campaign in the Middle East, which began in late February after American and Israeli forces launched strikes against Iran.
Asked about the prospects for an end to the fighting, Trump replied that he hoped the war was nearing its final stages. “They want to make a deal, and we’ll see how that works out,” he said.
The president was also asked about a proposal that would allow Canada to become an “associate member” of the European Union. Trump dismissed the suggestion as “laughable.”
“Canada has been a terrible trade partner, and no, I don’t see it,” he told reporters.
Trump warned that Canada’s move could carry serious consequences for Europe, saying he would impose “very serious tariffs” or restrict trade with the bloc if he viewed the decision as hostile.
“If it’s a bad intention, we’ll put very heavy tariffs on Europe,” the president added.
President Donald Trump addressed reporters before attending a campaign event on Wednesday.
Trump threatened new tariffs if Canada joins the European Union. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen are pictured together on Wednesday.
Trump said he remains hopeful that the war in Iran is close to ending. A damaged oil tanker is shown in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday.
Trump’s remarks came a day after the House passed a war powers resolution seeking to prevent him from continuing military operations without authorization from Congress.
The measure passed by a 220-204 vote late Tuesday, echoing earlier attempts this summer. This time, several more Republicans joined every voting Democrat in supporting efforts to end the conflict.
So far, none of the resolutions has reached the president’s desk. If the latest measure does, Trump is widely expected to veto it.
“Remember when Donald Trump said that this war would last just a few weeks?” asked Representative Seth Moulton, a Massachusetts Democrat and former Marine who served in Iraq and helped advance the resolution.
He said it’s time for Congress to ‘actually ask tough questions, as the Constitution directs us to do, rather than be subservient to another warmongering administration.’
But Republican Rep. Brian Mast of Florida, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, questioned which military resources Democrats would want to remove from the region where he said Iran remains a threat.
Mast said Trump is against ‘forever wars, and that is what he is ending’ – the decades of hostilities from Iran.
‘They are a continuous ongoing threat to the United States,’ Mast said. ‘Enough is enough.’
Trump has remained publicly committed to the Iran campaign, while War Secretary Pete Hegseth is facing a fresh challenge from Republican Rep. Thomas Massie, who introduced articles of impeachment accusing him of unlawfully continuing military action
The measure directs President Donald Trump to remove US armed forces from engaging in further hostilities against Iran unless explicitly authorized by Congress, except when necessary to defend the United States, an ally or partner from an ‘imminent attack’
The War Powers Resolution of 1973 would give Congress a mechanism to limit the president’s use of military force without congressional authorization.
The action is likely the last House vote on the Iran war ahead of the midterm elections, where the conflict overseas is playing a substantial role in the political campaigns.
Before voting even began, Representative Thomas Massie read aloud articles of impeachment against War Secretary Pete Hegseth on the House floor, putting the secretary’s conduct during the Iran war in the spotlight as lawmakers weigh whether or not to invoke the War Powers Resolution.
He accused Hegseth of unlawfully continuing US military action against Iran without proper authorization from Congress.
Massie’s move could force House Republicans into an uncomfortable showdown over Hegseth’s conduct, although impeachment itself is far from certain.
The Kentucky congressman filed the measure as a privileged resolution, meaning the House must take it up within two legislative days, setting the stage for a potentially explosive vote.
Massie’s move came as a damning report from the Pentagon’s Office of Inspector General revealed that the war in Iran has cost the United States at least $33.4 billion as hundreds of destroyed buildings and dozens of aircrafts remain unaccounted for.
European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced she wanted to add Canada as an associate member
Meanwhile, on the international stage, Trump faced a new threat on Wednesday as European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced she wanted to add Canada as an associate member.
During the top Eurocrat’s annual State of the Union speech to the European Parliament, she repeatedly love-bombed Canadian premier Mark Carney – who was in the chamber – saying Brussels wanted ‘to bring the relationship with Canada to the highest level possible.’
But to the surprise of diplomats from the EU’s 27 member nations, who would have to sign off the move, she gushed: ‘Dear Mark, I said we must urgently reimagine our partnerships. So, I would like to work with you on opening the door for Canada to be the first associate member of the EU.
‘We share one ocean, one set of values, one way of seeing the world. And we will now build our shared future as well – thank you for being here.’
But the attempt to flatter Carney faltered, with diplomats telling Our News Outlet they were never briefed about the proposal and that, in effect, ‘associate membership’ doesn’t even exist.
The EU diplomats accused Brussels of ‘over-reach’, with one calling the announcement ‘bombastic.’
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
