To Americans from Canadians: The bully you elected as president started a fight we’re going to finish

Canada will not be your 51st state. We will not be bullied, and we will not back down . . . we are prepared to endure any economic pain to protect who we are. 

 

By Fareed Khan 

 

A letter to America:

 

For the better part of a century, Canada has been your steadfast ally, your unwavering partner, and your friend through the trials of history. We have stood shoulder to shoulder in wars and times of crisis, opened our homes to Americans in moments of need, and built an economic relationship that has enriched both our nations. But today, under the leadership of Donald Trump, that relationship has been betrayed (again).

 

Your leader has chosen the path of a bully, wielding tariffs as weapons and threatening annexation masked as a jest that hides dangerous intent. America's actions—most recently the escalation of tariffs on Canadian goods to 35% on August 1, 2025—have made it clear that you see Canada not as a partner, but as a target to be subdued. Let us be unequivocal—Canada will not bend, we will not break, and we will not be bullied.  Canadians are prepared to endure whatever pain is necessary to protect our sovereignty and to ensure that your economic aggression costs you dearly.

The history of Donald Trump is one of betrayal, a pattern as old as the parable of the scorpion and the turtle. In that tale, the scorpion promises not to sting the turtle that carries it across the river, only to betray that trust because it is in its nature. Your president has shown his nature time and again in the business world and during his first presidential term—through broken promises and broken contracts with business associates, political allies, and now entire nations. Since November 2024, his repeated calls to make Canada the “51st state” have not been taken as mere rhetoric in Canada but as a direct threat to Canada’s sovereignty. His tariffs, which began at 25% and now stand at 35% on many Canadian goods, are not just economic policy, they are an attempt to bring Canada to its knees. But your president underestimates Canadian resilience. Canada is not a nation of weakness, we are a nation of tough, innovative, and resolute people who will fight back with every tool at our disposal.

The relationship between Canada and the United States stretches back well over a century, forged through shared challenges and mutual respect. In World War One, Canada sent over 600,000 troops to fight for freedom while the US remained neutral until 1917. In World War Two, we joined the Allies in 1939 at the start of the conflict, two years before America entered the fray. When the tragedy of 9/11 struck, Canada opened its skies and homes, welcoming over 33,000 US bound passengers onto its soil, with almost 7,000 hosted by families in the town of Gander, Newfoundland (a community of approximately 10,000).  Canada hosted our guests with kindness and patience until the passengers could return home. We stood by you in Afghanistan, sacrificing 158 Canadian lives in a shared mission. Yet, when you pursued the Iraq War on false pretenses, we held firm to our principles, refusing to join a conflict built on deception.

This is the Canada your president now threatens—a nation that has proven its loyalty, its courage, and its moral compass. In contrast, your government has chosen chaos over cooperation, taking a wrecking ball to the post-World War Two order that both our nations helped build. The US-Canada trade relationship, the largest in the world, with over $2.7 billion in trade across our border daily, is a cornerstone of prosperity for both nations. Three-quarters of Canada’s exports go to the US, and Canada is the top destination for exports from 34 US states, with Canadians purchasing $349 billion in American goods last year. Yet, your president has chosen to disrupt this mutually beneficial partnership with tariffs that economists warn will harm both our economies.

Trump’s tariffs are not just an attack on Canada, they are a self-inflicted wound on the American economy. Stephen Tapp, Chief Economist at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, has stated that these tariffs will “raise costs for businesses, make American production less competitive internationally, and raise prices even more for US consumers, who have recently suffered through the highest inflation in generations”. The Tax Foundation estimates that US tariffs will amount to an average tax increase of $1,219 per US household in 2025, with market income dropping by 1.3% in 2026. The Yale Budget Lab projects that Canada’s economy could shrink by 2.1% in the long term, but the US will also suffer long-term damage as supply chains falter and prices rise.

Canadians are not standing idly by. In response to Trump’s aggression against Canada, 71% of us have pledged to buy fewer American products, a boycott that is already hitting US exporters hard. In 2024, Canada was America’s  second-largest food export market, valued at $28.4 billion. That market is shrinking as Canadian supermarkets label domestic products and consumers willingly pay 50% more for fruit and vegetables from Mexico, Latin America and other nations rather than buy produce from the US. Liquor stores in the provinces of Quebec, British Columbia, and Ontario have pulled American wines and spirits from their shelves, replacing them with Canadian alternatives. Tourism, a $20.5 billion contributor to your economy from Canadian visitors, accounting for 140,000 jobs, has plummeted, with a six-month decline in cross-border travel costing the US an estimated $12.5 billion in 2025 alone. These actions are not mere gestures, they are a calculated response to your president’s economic bullying, and they are working.

Furthermore, your president’s threats of annexation have only strengthened the resolve of Canadians. Former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau captured the national sentiment when he declared, “We didn’t ask for this, but we will not back down.” Polls have shown a surge in Canadian pride, with 44% of Canadians expressing they are “very proud” of their country, up 10 points since December 2024. The idea of joining the US as a state has been rejected by 90% of Canadians. From small business owners to everyday consumers, people across the country are uniting to protect the Canadian economy and our sovereignty. Across Canada grocery stores now feature products made in Canada, and shoppers choose Canadian products even when it’s less convenient, calling your tariffs an “economic attack”. But this is not just about economics; it is about identity.

Canada is the nation that gave the world insulin, the electron microscope, IMAX, the smartphone, the pacemaker, and yes, even peanut butter. We are the birthplace of hockey and basketball, and the home of cultural icons like Drake, Shania Twain, and Gordon Lightfoot. We are a nation of innovators, creators, and peacemakers, and we will not allow our legacy to be erased by your bully president who sees Canada as a prize to be claimed.

However, we know that standing up to your president’s deranged tariff policy will come with costs. Economists predict that the Trump tariffs could lead to a million job losses in Canada and push our economy into recession. But we are prepared to endure this pain to protect our sovereignty and to send a message that US bullying will not go unanswered. Our government has already imposed retaliatory tariffs on $20.8 billion of US goods, and Canada is exploring further measures, such as export taxes on resources like oil, gas, electricity and critical minerals which the US relies on for its industrial and defence sectors. As Prime Minister Mark Carney has said, “We’re their number one customer. I’m not too sure if they fully understand the impact on both sides of the border.”

Your own economists are sounding the alarm, warning that the boycott and retaliatory tariffs will cause a “drop in US exports,” particularly in food and alcohol. A “stagflationary shock” is also predicted in the US, with growth reduced by 1.5% and rising consumer prices. Even General Motors has reported a $1.1 billion loss in quarterly earnings due to the Trump tariffs on Canadian auto parts.

These are not abstract numbers; they are the real-world consequences of your president’s reckless policies, felt by American businesses and consumers alike. He seems to have mistaken Canada’s politeness for weakness, but we are a nation forged in resilience. We have faced external threats before and emerged stronger, and we will do so again. Our boycott is not temporary. It is a commitment to reshape our economy, reduce our reliance on US trade, and strengthen ties with Europe, Asia, and beyond. We are taking action to boost our domestic economy by an estimated $200 billion annually and undertaking nation building projects in support of that objective. We are united and we will not relent until the Trump administration ceases its attacks on our economy and our sovereignty.

This is our declaration of independence from the US as our main trading partner. Canada will not be your 51st state. We will not be bullied, and we will not back down. If Trump persists in this insanity, the economic pain will be felt on both sides of the border, but we are prepared to endure it to protect who we are. The scorpion may sting because it is in its nature, but Canada will not drown from the scorpion you have installed as your president. We will rise, stronger and prouder than ever, and you will learn that a true friend, when betrayed, becomes an unyielding force.

Sincerely,

Patriots Across Canada
 

© 2025 The View From Here. © 2025 Fareed Khan. All Rights Reserved.

Trump’s tariff policies are a path to economic chaos and potential global conflict

Trump's tariffs echo the catastrophic 1930 Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act and risk a global recession or depression, could destabilize political systems, and potentially ignite military conflict.

  

By Fareed Khan 

   

Since Donald Trump’s re-election as president of the United States, a storm of economic and geopolitical turmoil has engulfed the world, driven by his antagonistic tariff policies targeting America’s closest allies and trading partners. On March 4, 2025, Trump imposed 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico and 10% on Chinese goods under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). On July 10, 2025, he escalated tensions by threatening a 35% tariff on Canadian imports beginning in August, with 30% on Mexico, and blanket tariffs of 15% to 20% on most other trading partners.

These policies, echoing the catastrophic Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, risk plunging the global economy into a deep recession or depression, destabilizing political systems, and potentially igniting military conflict between the US and some of its trade partners and allies. If this were to happen Canada—a nation rich in oil, critical minerals, and freshwater which the US covets—could potentially be the frontline in such a conflict. The resulting consequences will harm hundreds of millions globally, but American consumers will bear the steepest costs through higher prices, job losses, and eroded global influence.

The historical parallels of Trump’s tariff policies to the Smoot-Hawley legislation are stark. Enacted in 1930, the act raised duties on hundreds of imports, prompting retaliatory tariffs that crippled global trade and was a major factor in transforming a recession into The Great Depression. By June 2025, Trump’s tariffs raised the average US rate to 15.8%, the highest in over a century, threatening a similar outcome.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF), Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and World Bank have slashed 2025 global growth forecasts, warning of a US-triggered recession. Given that modern global economies are far more interconnected than in the 1930s, these risks will be greatly amplified. Disruptions in one market, particularly one as large as the US, will cascade worldwide, threatening the livelihoods of hundreds of millions. We also have to remember that the Great Depression fuelled nationalist and fascist movements, paving the way for World War II, and today’s escalating trade tensions could similarly destabilize global peace.

Economists warn that Trump’s tariffs will hit American consumers hardest. The Tax Foundation estimates that tariffs imposed as of April 2025 will cost US households $1,200 annually as businesses pass on the higher costs of imported good. The automotive industry, reliant on Canadian and Mexican parts, also faces production cost increases of $3,000 per vehicle, while grocery prices will rise due to Mexico supplying over 60% of US vegetable imports and nearly half of its fruit imports.

Trump’s claim that tariffs boost domestic manufacturing and will grow the economy are dubious claims and have been refuted by the vast majority of economists. His first-term tariffs led to job losses in agriculture outweighing manufacturing gains. Retaliatory tariffs from Canada, Mexico, and China—targeting US exports like agricultural products, alcoholic beverages, and other items—have cost American farmers, wine makers and distillers billions, with China’s 15% tariffs further eroding market access. These measures create an inflationary spiral, reducing purchasing power and pushing the US and global economies toward recession. With the US accounting for 26.1% of global GDP the impact of Trump’s tariffs will have a world-wide impact. The economic fallout is already evident. The US economy contracted in the first quarter of 2025, and Canada’s exports to the US, which account for approximately 14% of its GDP, have declined substantially, with the Bank of Canada warning of a “substantially weaker” economy.

The president’s tariff policies had a devastating impact on the stock market with a crash in April 2025 that erased trillions of dollars in value after Trump announced a 10% universal tariff and “reciprocal” tariffs on 57 countries. Inflation is also projected to surge as businesses deplete pre-tariff stockpiles, with significant price increases expected on imported products by late summer 2025. American families, already strained by inflation, are facing higher costs for essentials like food and fuel, while export-dependent sectors shed jobs. Canada’s retaliatory measures, including Ontario’s threatened 25% electricity export surcharge, are sure to exacerbate cross-border tensions. Furthermore, people in the US Midwest, reliant on Canada for 60% of their crude imports, could see gas prices rise by as much as 50 cents per gallon, should Trump decide to apply tariffs to crude oil, or if Canada applies export tariffs as a punitive measure.

Beyond economics, Trump’s trade war risks geopolitical catastrophe, with Canada as a potential flash point. His July 10, 2025, threat of a 35% tariff on Canadian goods, coupled with provocative calls to annex Canada as the “51st state,” has inflamed tensions. Posts on X reveal growing US nationalist sentiment, with some MAGA supporters eyeing Canada’s one-tenth of global oil reserves, its critical mineral resources, and fresh water as strategic assets for US energy security and its technology sectors. Canada’s resources make it a prime target, as the US seeks to secure oil for energy, minerals for electric vehicles, and fresh water amid growing domestic water shortages.

The link between trade wars and military conflict is well-established. French economist Frédéric Bastiat’s maxim, “when goods do not cross frontiers, armies will,” resonates today. The Smoot-Hawley tariffs exacerbated tensions that then fuelled global militarization in the 1930s. Trump’s rhetoric, casting allies like Canada as possible enemies while extending an olive branch to Russia—a nation with a history of undermining Western security—creates a dangerous diplomatic inversion.

His suspension of trade talks with Canada on June 27, 2025, over its digital services tax, and threats to dissolve agreements related to NORAD and Great Lakes management, signal a dismantling of decades of cooperation. This erosion of trust and Trump’s frequent criticisms of Canada could embolden US nationalist factions in his MAGA movement, particularly if economic hardship intensifies as a result of his tariff policies. This raises the spectre of military posturing by the US to secure Canadian resources. Such a conflict would disrupt North American stability and have global repercussions.

The economic damage extends to global supply chains, particularly in North America’s integrated automotive and sector. Canada supplies critical components for US vehicle production, and tariffs could disrupt just-in-time manufacturing, leading to factory slowdowns and job losses. Mexico’s shift toward domestic corn and fuel production to counter tariffs also threatens US agricultural exports, deepening rural America’s economic woes. Small businesses, already struggling with inflation, face higher input costs, forcing layoffs or closures, while consumers grapple with reduced purchasing power. Emerging markets, dependent on trade with the US face secondary effects as global trade networks falter, potentially triggering currency devaluations and social unrest in vulnerable economies.

Canada’s strategic vulnerabilities heighten the stakes. Its oil reserves, critical minerals, and fresh water are increasingly sought-after as global resource scarcity intensifies. The US, facing domestic water shortages and pressure to secure minerals for green technology, may view Canadian resources as a national security priority, fuelling increased nationalist fervour. Canada’s relatively small military and economic size compared to the US make it vulnerable to coercion, yet its retaliatory measures, like restricting oil and electricity exports, could destabilize US regions like New York, Michigan and the Mid-West states, which rely on Canadian energy. This tit-for-tat escalation risks turning economic disputes into broader conflicts, with Canada as the front-line due to its proximity and resource wealth.

The global economic consequences extend beyond North America. Developing nations, reliant on exports to the US and Canada, face declining demand as tariffs disrupt trade flows, potentially leading to economic stagnation in regions like Southeast Asia and Latin America. The World Bank warns that a prolonged trade war could push 50 million people into poverty by 2026, as global supply chains unravel and commodity prices spike. In the US, the ripple effects will be felt in urban and rural communities alike, with rising costs for goods like electronics and clothing, which depend on imported components, eroding middle-class savings and exacerbating inequality. These pressures could fuel domestic unrest, as economic hardship amplifies political polarization.

The geopolitical ripple effects are equally dire. Trump’s threatened tariff on the EU, delayed to August 1, 2025, has strained NATO alliances, with EU leaders approving retaliatory tariffs. China’s response—imposing up to 84% tariffs on US goods—further isolates America from the nations that have helped create the post-World War Two trade network.

This fragmentation undermines efforts to counter China’s growing global influence, as Canada, Mexico and other allies may seek alternative trade partners, even potentially aligning more closely with Beijing as a counterbalance to the US. In addition, Trump’s pivot toward Russia, evidenced by his reluctance to forcefully criticize Moscow for its actions in Ukraine, and fully support that country in its war with Russia, risks destabilizing the post-World War II order that has maintained relative peace through economic interdependence. Furthermore, America’s $748.9 billion trade deficit, along with how it has alienated and angered allies and trade partners, will make this isolation economically perilous.

Long-term diplomatic solutions also face significant hurdles. The fractured political landscape in the US, with Congress divided along partisan lines, limits the prospects for repealing Trump’s tariff authority, despite legal challenges to his policies. Canada’s efforts to build coalitions through the G7 and other international forums are hampered by Trump’s withdrawal from multilateral frameworks, leaving allies scrambling to maintain global trade norms. Rebuilding trust will require years, and possibly decades, of sustained diplomatic engagement, as nations like Canada pivot to diversify trade with Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America, reducing reliance on the US market.

Whether this trajectory can be averted is up in the air? The US Congress holds the authority to curb Trump’s tariff powers, especially after federal courts ruled his actions unconstitutional. However, political polarization and Trump’s influence over the Republican Party make bipartisan action challenging, and only courageous leadership would restore free trade principles.

Canada, led by newly elected prime minister Mark Carney, sought to rally allies at the G7 Summit in Alberta in June, but Trump’s early summit departure and his unpredictability have stymied progress. What Canada and other nations targeted by Trump need to remember is Immanuel Kant’s assertion that “the spirit of commerce . . . sooner or later takes hold of every nation, and is incompatible with war,” a sentiment that remains relevant today.

Moving forward global leaders must prioritize diplomacy and free trade to avert economic and geopolitical catastrophe. Canada’s resource wealth and economic potential positions it to forge new alliances, but this risks further alienating the US, potentially escalating tensions.

The world stands at an inflection point in history. Without decisive action by the leaders of Canada, Mexico and other nations in Trump’s cross hairs, Trump’s tariffs could spark a global economic catastrophe and even armed conflict. This will affect people around the world but Americans will face the harshest consequences—higher costs, unemployment, and diminished global influence.

It’s up to political leaders to do what’s needed to ensure that the world doesn’t fall down the black hole of global depression and possible armed conflict, and keep it from regressing economically and politically, as one man’s actions disrupt and destabilize the world.

© 2025 The View From Here. © 2025 Fareed Khan. All Rights Reserved.

OP-ED -- Praise for Booker amid Gaza carnage is a sign of Democrats’ moral bankruptcy

By Fareed Khan

Originally published on TheHill.com: https://thehill.com/opinion/5233544-democrats-booker-gaza-carnage/

 

 

In a time marked by unspeakable horrors in Gaza, the Democratic Party faithful still found time to laud Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) for his 25-hour Senate speech. His spectacle, hailed as a triumph of Democratic grit, reveals a deep rot in a party so enamored with its own theatrics that it turns a blind eye to the carnage it funded and supported under the Biden administration.

To cheer Booker while Palestinians in Gaza are being slaughtered by Israel is not just tone-deaf. It is a damning indictment of a party as morally bankrupt as the Republicans led by President Trump.

The numbers alone should stop us cold. Since October 2023, Israel’s offensive has led to the deaths of more than 59,000 Palestinians in Gaza (one-third of them children), injured more than 116,000, buried countless others under Gaza’s rubble, and made millions homeless. In addition, Israel has deliberately cut off food, water and electricity — a war crime that the U.S. has done nothing to stop — that is pushing Gaza to the edge of famine.

Last week, reports emerged of Israeli soldiers executing 15 paramedics. In addition, since the beginning of 2024 the UN has reported discovery of mass graves around a number of hospitals containing the bodies of executed Palestinians.

Yet amid this ongoing carnage, Democrats chose to fawn over Booker’s speech which, for all its stamina, did nothing to fix America’s broken moral compass. This is not the mark of a party that values humanity. It is the behavior of a political cult, obsessed with symbolic gestures while failing to address real problems affecting people’s lives.

Booker himself is also guilty. He has pocketed hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years from pro-Israel groups. Far from being a champion of justice, Booker (like other Democrats) is a cog in the machine that Democrats have oiled and maintained that has led to the Gaza carnage.

The accolades for Booker aren’t just misplaced — they are symptoms of a pestilence within the Democratic establishment. Democrats condemn Trumpism as a fascist specter, yet the party’s unwavering support for Israel, its coziness with corporate interests and its refusal to confront its own complicity have erased any claim to moral superiority.

When Booker posed for a photo in 2024 with Yoav Gallant — Israel’s former defense minister, now wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes — it wasn’t an aberration. It was a snapshot of a politician (and a party) that preaches human rights while embracing those who trample them with impunity.

The Democratic establishment’s supreme hypocrisy is a sign of a cult-like loyalty that places greater importance on Booker’s theatrics while ignoring the deadly violence faced by Palestinians, which has eroded trust in democracy itself. It is one of the reasons for the rise of Trumpism — because Democrats have offered platitudes instead of justice for years, a formula successfully emulated by Trump.

Look at the party’s record which has paved the way for attacks on immigrants and visa students protesting over Gaza, with some being arrested and detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents like a scene out of Soviet Russia. The racist and bigoted targeting of Muslims, Arabs and non-white communities didn’t spring from a vacuum — it grew in the soil cultivated by a party that talks about equity and inclusivity but bankrolls Islamophobia, racism and oppression. It’s no wonder that millions from Muslim and non-white voters rejected the Democrats in last year’s election.

The contrast is stark. While people protesting Gaza face abductions by ICE, and Palestinians endure atrocities, Democrats cheer a meaningless filibuster. This is complete cowardice on the part of Democrats.

A party that claims to defend the marginalized cannot square that with taking cash from pro-Israel groups, nor with standing by Israel as its war crimes mount. The ICC’s pursuit of Netanyahu and Gallant underscores the gravity of the situation, yet Democrats remain unmoved.

Those who bristle at this critique should look within themselves and find their humanity. Because if they can stomach applauding those that enable atrocities, they’re not defending democracy, they’re perpetuating its decline.  

The Democratic Party’s refusal to break from this pattern mirrors the blind allegiance of Trump’s MAGA cultists. Both seek power at the expense of morality and principle. Both sacrifice innocent lives for empty political platitudes and theatrics. If calling out Booker’s (and his party’s) complicity for actions in Gaza feels offensive to some, that assessment says volumes about the dearth of humanity among these people.

Performative politics won’t erase the mass graves, starving Palestinian children or the silenced voices of victims. It’s time to stop applauding meaningless performative politics. Shame on those who have enabled the brutalization of Palestinians.

Fareed Khan is a government relations and public policy professional with over three decades of experience.

© 1998 - 2025 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved.
© 2025 The View From Here.  © 2025 Fareed Khan.  All Rights Reserved.

Trump’s crackdown on pro-Palestinian protesters signals a slide into fascist authoritarianism

This crackdown serves as a broader warning to all Americans: political dissent will not be tolerated.  If the government can detain and deport legal residents for exercising their rights, what protections remain for anyone else?

  

By Fareed Khan

 

In recent months, a chilling pattern has emerged on American university campuses.   Students and faculty, many of whom hold green cards or student visas, are being arrested, detained, and threatened with deportation for participating in pro-Palestinian protests or speaking out against Israel’s genocidal crimes in Gaza.  These individuals, exercising their constitutionally protected right to free speech, have found themselves targeted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) under the directives of the Trump administration for their political protests.  This is not merely a policy disagreement or an immigration enforcement issue — it is a stark demonstration of authoritarianism, one that echoes the repressive tactics of fascist and dictatorial regimes, and signals a dangerous erosion of democracy in the United States. 

The First Amendment of the US Constitution guarantees the right to freedom speech, a cornerstone of American democracy.  Protests, even those that challenge government policies or those of powerful allies like Israel, are not only legal but are a vital part of the nation’s political fabric.  Yet, the Trump administration has chosen to weaponize an obscure law — one that allows the Secretary of State to deport non-citizens deemed a threat to US foreign policy — to silence dissent.  This law, rarely invoked in the past, was intended to address genuine national security risks, not to punish students and scholars for their political views.  By repurposing it to target pro-Palestinian voices, the administration reveals its true face, one that is fascist and racist, that intends to intimidate, suppress, and punish those who dare to criticize Israel’s crimes and US complicity, in what Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the International Court of Justice have described as a genocide in Gaza.

The number of protesters targeted are far greater than the few whose stories have been covered by the news media.  Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently disclosed that the State Department has revoked the visas of at least 300 foreign students, and many others are in the government’s sights.  This figure, however, likely underrepresents the full scope of the crackdown, as high-profile cases covered by the media — such as those of Mahmoud Khalil, Rumeysa Ozturk, Momodou Taal, and Yunseo Chung — are just the tip of the iceberg.  These individuals, all racialized immigrants with legal status in the US, have been singled out for their activism.  Their stories paint a grim picture of a government willing to trample constitutional rights and deploy Gestapo-like tactics to intimidate protesters and enforce ideological conformity.

Consider Mahmoud Khalil, a green card holder married to an American, who led protests at Columbia University.  He now languishes in a Louisiana ICE detention center, his green card revoked, as the State Department seeks to deport him.  Or Rumeysa Ozturk, a Fulbright scholar and PhD student at Tufts University, detained by plain clothes ICE agents near her home for writing an op-ed critical of her university’s ties to companies supporting Israel.  Momodou Taal, a Cornell graduate student and dual UK-Gambia national, faces deportation proceedings after being a prominent voice in pro-Palestinian demonstrations.  And Yunseo Chung, a 21-year-old permanent resident who has lived in the US since she was seven, is now at risk of being deported to South Korea because of her constitutionally protected protest activities.  These are not isolated incidents but part of a systematic campaign targeting hundreds of students and faculty who have spoken out against the Gaza genocide.

The parallels between the actions of the Trump administration to authoritarian regimes are unmistakable.  In Russia or Communist China, dissenters are routinely “disappeared” into detention centres, their human rights denied under the guise of protecting state interests.  Today, the Trump administration is employing similar tactics, using ICE as a modern-day equivalent to the Soviet KGB to round up and silence those who challenge America’s support for Israel.  The racialized nature of these detentions — targeting people of colour — further underscores the administration’s fascist undertones, evoking the scapegoating and exclusionary policies of 20th-century fascist dictatorships.  What we are witnessing is not about national security, it is about control, power, and punishing those whose opinions and views with whom Trump disagrees or opposes.

Legal challenges are mounting as attorneys for those detained argue that the government’s actions violate the Constitution and represent egregious government overreach.  The use of a foreign policy statute to suppress free speech is a flimsy pretext, one that courts are likely to scrutinize closely.  Yet, the damage is already being done.  The chilling effect on campuses is very real — students and faculty, particularly those in the US on visas or green cards, now face a stark choice: speak out about Israel’s human rights crimes and risk detention, or remain silent and abandon their principles.  This is not the hallmark of a free society but of a dictatorship where dissent is met with retribution and imprisonment.

The Trump administration’s motivations appear twofold.  First, it is signalling unwavering loyalty to Israel and its influential Zionist supporters in the US, who have loudly condemned the protests.  By cracking down on pro-Palestinian activism, Trump is doing the bidding of a foreign government and its domestic allies, prioritizing their interests over the basic rights of individuals in the US.  Second, this crackdown serves as a broader warning to all Americans: political dissent will not be tolerated.  If the government can detain and deport legal residents for exercising their rights, what protections remain for anyone else?   This is the behaviour of a dictator who believes he is above the law, unbound by the Constitution, and free to act with impunity.

The administration’s defenders might argue that these measures are necessary to maintain order or protect US foreign policy interests.  But such claims crumble under scrutiny.  The protests have been overwhelmingly peaceful, and the individuals targeted pose no credible threat to national security.  Mahmoud Khalil is not a terrorist, he is a husband and human rights activist.  Rumeysa Ozturk is not a spy, she is a scholar who wrote an editorial in a university newspaper.  The government’s actions are not about safety — they are about silencing voices that challenge the status quo.  This is the essence of authoritarianism — the use of state power to crush opposition and criticism, regardless of legality or morality.

The implications extend far beyond the current moment.  If the Trump administration succeeds in normalizing these tactics, the precedent will be set for future crackdowns on any group or cause deemed inconvenient.  Environmental activists, racial justice advocates, or critics of US militarism could be next.  The erosion of free speech and assembly rights does not stop with one issue — it metastasizes, undermining the democratic foundations of the nation.  What we are witnessing in the US is not a temporary overreaction but a deliberate step toward a fascist state where dissent is criminalized, human rights are ignored, and the government operates without accountability.

The American public must recognize this for what it is, a betrayal of the values the US  claims to uphold.  The Constitution is not a suggestion, it is the bedrock of the nation’s identity.  By targeting pro-Palestinian protesters, the Trump administration is not just attacking a specific group of people — it is attacking the very idea of freedom.  The detained students and faculty are not the only victims, every American who cherishes their rights is at risk.  Silence in the face of the Trump administration’s overreach is complicity. 

History offers a sobering lesson.  Regimes that begin by targeting minority and marginalized groups — immigrants, students, religious communities — rarely stop there.  The Gestapo in Nazi Germany did not emerge overnight.  It was built through incremental steps, each one justified as necessary until dissent was extinguished entirely.  The US is not yet Nazi Germany, but the parallels are too close for comfort.  The arrest and detention of legal residents for exercising their rights, the use of immigration laws as a political weapon, and the blatant disregard for constitutional protections, are the hallmarks of a government sliding into fascist authoritarianism.

The Trump administration’s actions demand a forceful response.  America’s Courts must strike down these abuses of power, Congress must investigate and hold those responsible accountable, and citizens must raise their voices — on campuses, in the streets, and at the ballot box — to reject this descent into fascism.  The detained students and faculty are not threats to America they are its conscience, reminding Americans of the principles they risk losing.  If Americans allow these voices to be silenced, they will forfeit the claim to being a free nation.  The time to act is now, before the last vestiges of democracy are swept away by a dangerous regime that day by day is showing that it knows no bounds and will tolerate no dissent.

 

© 2025 The View From Here.  © 2025 Fareed Khan.  All Rights Reserved.

It’s unthinkable, but Trump could resort to military force in his bid to annex Canada

Before Russia’s 2022 assault on Ukraine, the Russian president spent years laying groundwork — claiming historical rights, questioning borders, and using economic pressure to destabilize Kyiv.  Trump is taking a similar approach . . . 
 

By Fareed Khan

 
For a century and a half, Canada and the United States have shared a peaceful border, rooted in mutual respect, economic ties, and democratic values. The last hints of American aggression toward Canada faded after the Civil War, when fear of invasion helped unite British North American colonies into Canada in 1867.  Now, that dormant threat has reemerged under US President Donald Trump. His erratic behaviour, inflammatory rhetoric, and willingness to unravel longstanding treaties signals a danger that Canada cannot ignore.  As a result, Ottawa must prepare for the unthinkable – a military incursion from the south, driven by a deranged leader whose actions echo Russia’s prelude to invading Ukraine.

© Image Comics.  SOURCE: https://gizmodo.com/us-canada-invasion-comic-trump-tariffs-sales-image-2000561632

 

Trump seems to be following Vladimir Putin’s playbook.  Before Russia’s 2022 assault on Ukraine, the Russian president spent years laying groundwork — claiming historical rights, questioning borders, and using economic pressure to destabilize Kyiv.  Trump is taking a similar approach by challenging the 1908 Canada–US border treaty, calling it outdated and asserting American claims to Canadian land, water, and the Great Lakes.  On March 4, 2025, he launched a trade war by imposing a 25% tariff on Canadian goods despite a free trade agreement he signed with Canada in 2020.  Following a tense phone call with Trump the following day Prime Minister Justin Trudeau decided to warn Canadians that the tariffs were a prelude aimed to weaken Canada’s economy with the goal of annexation by the US.

If one looks closely Trump’s actions fit the pattern Putin used – economic leverage and territorial claims to justify aggression.  His concerns about illegal migrants and fentanyl originating from Canada have evolved into trade warfare and hints of military action. Should Trump escalate his approach, he might consider deploying US troops to “secure” what he perceives as American interests on Canadian soil.  This potential aggression necessitates that Canada begin preparations for a possible military incursion.

While the likelihood of a US military incursion into Canada is remote, it is not outside the realm of possibility. Speculation about a potential US invasion has emerged in both Canadian and US media.  History has shown that trade wars can escalate into military conflicts, with the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930 serving as a prime example.  This series of tariffs aimed to protect the US economy resulted in retaliatory tariffs that severely hampered global trade and played a significant role in the onset of the Great Depression.  Ultimately, this paved the way for protectionism, nationalism, and the conditions which led to the outbreak of World War II.

If the US occupied Canada it would be disastrous for both nations according to defence experts.  It could provoke a prolonged insurgency, as the sheer size and resilience of the Canadian population would make it difficult for US forces to maintain control.  If just 1% of Canada’s 41 million citizens took up arms – 410,000 people – that would dwarf the Taliban’s forces in Afghanistan.  Guerrilla tactics, engaging in hit-and-run operations rather than conventional warfare, against American targets would define the Canadian resistance

Canadians, despite our reputation for politeness, possess a resilient spirit, which is already surfacing amid a wave of patriotism.  Historical precedents, such as the American experiences in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan, show that occupations often ignite defiance instead of submission.  An invasion of Canada could turn into a quagmire for the US, diverting resources while emboldening Russian and Chinese expansionist ambitions.

Furthermore, Canada cannot assume it would stand alone.  As a NATO member, the expectation would be for allies such as the UK, France, and Germany to respond.  However, NATO is already strained by tensions with Russia in Eastern Europe, and in recent meetings with the leaders of France and the UK, the new prime minister Mark Carney did not get any overt statements of support, suggesting that a North American crisis could weaken the alliance and potentially fracture it in the face of a US attack on Canada.  While Commonwealth countries such as the UK, Australia, and New Zealand might offer support, their capacity to assist Canada militarily would be limited.

The circumstances in which Canada finds itself demands self-reliance.  Ottawa should move immediately to fund modernization of the military, increase military recruitment and troop readiness, and stockpile supplies while strengthening infrastructure, energy independence, and civilian defence.  In addition, Canadian leaders must rally global condemnation of Trump’s annexation threats to isolate the US politically.  But preparation must go beyond words, because if tariffs are Trump’s opening salvo Canada should not wait to see what comes next.

Canada would suffer greatly but it would endure.  Trump seems blind to the prospect of mutual destruction.  But Trump’s actions suggest he is unbound by sanity or history.  Canada can’t dismiss him as eccentric, and based on his words and actions over the past few months, must now treat him and the US as an aggressor.  The US hasn’t been Canada’s enemy since the 19th century, but under Trump, that has changed in the span of a few months.

The Canadian government must act to strengthen the country’s defences, rally allies, and prepare Canadians for a fight we hope to avoid.  Failing to do so would further risk our sovereignty and Canada’s survival as an independent nation.

  

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