Vance weighs in on Jivani trade advocacy and how Carney tried to 'out-tough' Trump

Vice-President JD Vance weighed in on the latest trade deal with Canada at a fundraising event Wednesday, saying Prime Minister Mark Carney tried to “out-tough” President Donald Trump while crediting his longtime friend Conservative MP Jamil Jivani as a helpful advocate for Canada. In audio from the fundraiser in Southampton, N.Y., which was provided to The Canadian Press by a source who attended the private function, Vance said Carney is a “very sweet guy” and he gets along with him quite well. But, Vance said, Carney “comes in and puffs his chest out and says, ‘I’m going to, like, out-tough Donald Trump.'” “It’s hilarious because Carney presents this as some victory for Canada when fundamentally, like, they climb down on a lot of issues,” Vance told the room.

“But the quiet sort of behind-the-scenes story is that this, like, random MP who has a good relationship with us has been a pretty effective advocate,” he said about Jivani. Vance added there’s “this guy Pierre Poilievre or something” who is the leader of the Conservatives in Canada, adding he is a “non-entity” in negotiations. The White House and the vice-president’s office have not yet responded to a request for comment.

Trump announced late Tuesday a last-minute deal to delay new tariffs from slamming an array of Canadian products for three days. The temporary reprieve followed a phone call with Carney earlier in the day and weeks of intensified bilateral negotiations. Trump on Wednesday said it was a “good deal for everybody” and said his administration has a “very nice relationship with leadership right now.” Multiple news reports have said the deal will see the United States lower sectoral tariffs on Canadian steel, aluminum and automobiles.

In return, Carney told premiers to return American booze to liquor store shelves. It’s unclear what else Canada agreed to. Trump claimed the agreement would drop tariffs on American farmers to zero.

Minister Dominic LeBlanc returned to Washington Thursday for trade talks with United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer ahead of a Saturday 12:01 a.m. deadline to get the agreement across the finish line. Vance told the fundraiser for young Republican donors that Trump is not going to “bend over to make Canada happy” but he “saw that there was an opportunity here to get some wins for the country.” “And the whole point of thi…