President Donald Trump plans to raise tariffs on Canadian imports by 35 percent, upending whatever progress the two countries had made on a trade deal, if any.

“As you will recall, the United States imposed tariffs on Canada to deal with our nation’s fentanyl crisis, which is caused, in part, by Canada’s failure to stop the drugs from pouring into our country,” Trump wrote to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in a letter published on Truth Social Thursday night. “Instead of working with the United States, Canada retaliated with its own tariffs. Starting August 1, 2025, we will charge Canada a tariff of 35 percent on Canadian products sent into the United States, separate from all Sectoral tariffs.”

Trump’s tariffs are more threats than actual tariffs right now and the letter itself looks like many others he has sent to foreign leaders and posted on social media. The August 1 deadline is also a significant extension from the initial July 8 one the president announced this spring. Nothing is final here, but Trump is further rupturing relations with one of the U.S.’s closest allies—and one of its most important trading partners.

Another difference in this letter—Trump is using fentanyl as a scapegoat for this destructive tariff, continuing to spread the often-debunked thinking that Canada plays some significant role in trafficking fentanyl into the U.S. when the opposite is true. Canada is not a major player in U.S. fentanyl trafficking, and the tariffs Trump is levying do not reflect the reality of the epidemic.

“Canada has made vital progress to stop the scourge of fentanyl in North America. We are committed to continuing to work with the United States to save lives and protect communities in both our countries,” Prime Minister Carney responded on X. “We are building Canada strong. The federal government, provinces and territories are making significant progress in building one Canadian economy. We are poised to build a series of major new projects in the national interest. We are strengthening our trading partnerships throughout the world.”

Border czar Tom Homan said the Trump administration is looking for more countries to send undocumented immigrants, as part of its inhumane policy of third country deportations.

During an interview with Politico’s Dasha Burns, Homan said the government plans to make deals with “many countries” to exile migrants and noncitizens there, indicating that there were other “signed agreements” in place but declining to say with whom.

“When you’ve got countries that won’t take their nationals back, and they can’t stay here, we find another country willing to accept them,” Homan said.

This week, Trump met with the leaders of five African countries, including Liberia, Gabon, Mauritania, and Senegal, which appeared on a list of 51 countries the government has asked to accept deportees. Already, at least seven countries have agreed to accept people swept up by the Trump administration’s massive deportation scheme. Trump said that the African summit was to focus on “commercial opportunities,” and a trade deal could include such an agreement.

Last month, the Supreme Court cleared the way for the Trump administration to set immigrants adrift in random countries where they have no connections, dealing a severe blow to the rule of law by effectively rewarding the White House for violating court orders opposing third country deportations.

Homan also revealed that he does not know the status of the eight men who were deported and then cruelly held by ICE in a shipping container in South Sudan.

“They’re living in Sudan. And will they stay in Sudan? I don’t know,” Homan said. “When we sign these agreements with all these countries, we make arrangements to make sure these countries are receiving these people and there’s opportunities for these people. But I can’t tell if we remove somebody to Sudan—they can stay there a week and leave. I don’t know.”

The Trump administration had previously ignored rulings from federal judges not to carry out deportations to South Sudan, which is in the midst of violence and political unrest, with the State Department warning Americans not to visit.

MAGA supporters want the White House to know they are not happy with Donald Trump.

In an attempt to fend off concerns that the president’s support was slipping, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt posted on X Thursday that Trump’s reputation was that of a “rare promise keeper,” citing a report from the conservative Washington Examiner. But his base did not agree.

“Why is the Trump administration protecting pedophiles?” asked one user who self-identified as a Christian Nationalist.

“You say with a straight face after the lies about Epstein? Complete bogus,” responded the official account for the Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania.

Against the expertise of individuals who had worked on the case for decades, Attorney General Pam Bondi suggested in January that Jeffrey Epstein had maintained a “client list,” supercharging ideas and theories about which high-powered individuals could have been........

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