Trump blasts media after ‘off the record’ comments about Canada leak

President Trump blasted the news media on Friday after apparently off-the-record comments he made about Canada were leaked, calling it another example of “dishonest reporting.”

“Wow, I made OFF THE RECORD COMMENTS to Bloomberg concerning Canada, and this powerful understanding was BLATANTLY VIOLATED,” Trump asserted in a tweet.

“Oh well, just more dishonest reporting. I am used to it. At least Canada knows where I stand!” Trump added, apparently confirming the comments.

Trump’s attack on the media came only hours after The Toronto Star reported that Trump privately said he wouldn’t compromise in regards to trade with Canada.  

Wow, I made OFF THE RECORD COMMENTS to Bloomberg concerning Canada, and this powerful understanding was BLATANTLY VIOLATED. Oh well, just more dishonest reporting. I am used to it. At least Canada knows where I stand!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 31, 2018

Trump’s comments about Canada reportedly came during an interview with Bloomberg News in the Oval Office on Thursday.

The president spoke about the U.S. ally with the understanding that the comment would be “off the record,” according to the Star.

The Star noted that Bloomberg had accepted Trump’s request not to publish his remarks on Canada during their interview on Thursday. But the Star reported that its publication had made no such agreement with the White House.

It is unclear how the Star obtained Trump’s remarks from the interview. The president appeared to confirm in his tweet Friday that the reported comments were accurate.

Bloomberg Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait attended the interview and did not dispute the authenticity of the remarks that the Star reported. 

The president was quoted as saying that he could not go public with his position on Canada because “it’s going to be so insulting they’re not going to be able to make a deal.”

“Here’s the problem. If I say no — the answer’s no. If I say no, then you’re going to put that, and it’s going to be so insulting they’re not going to be able to make a deal … I can’t kill these people,” Trump said of the Canadian government, according to the Star.

He added that a possible deal on trade with Canada would be “totally on our terms.”