Jon Liedtke joins 610 CKTB’s Gene Valaitis for his regular weekly segment, Liedtke’s Got a Take!
Jon Liedtke joins criticizes the U.S. Embassy Ottawa’s accusations of Canadian election interference. Liedtke dismisses U.S. claims against retaliatory tariffs as hypocritical bully behavior, highlights U.S. meetings with separatists, condemns foreign dark money in domestic protests, and urges everyday Americans to restore normal trade and diplomatic relations.
Transcript (Gemini Generated):
GENE VALAITIS: Right now, though, it is time for another edition of Liedtke’s Got a Take. Good morning, Jon.
JON LIEDTKE: Good morning, Gene.
GENE VALAITIS: So, uh, you know, we were texting back and forth, you and me, yesterday, and all of a sudden, um, you sent me an email, and I got the link to this official U.S. government site set up by Pete Hoekstra, the U.S. Ambassador to Canada. And basically, uh, he was telling Canada, “Stop interfering in our elections.” Uh, there were quotes from the Prime Minister, from Doug Ford, from Mélanie Joly, and the list of a whole 12 people, Canadians, who were busted because they voted illegally in a U.S. election. And I’m sure that probably had a big factor in the outcome—12 people. It’s quite the site, and it’s incredibly insulting. Now, uh, Liedtke, uh, the U.S. Embassy claims Canadian counter-tariffs targeting specific U.S. states are election interference. Now, Canadian leaders say that’s just standard trade retaliation. What’s your take?
JON LIEDTKE: You know, Gene, Washington started this trade war, and the purpose of it was to crush us economically, to annex us, to make us the 51st state. Now they’re whining because of counter-tariffs and how they hurt? Get real. I’m sorry. And I’m sorry that they have congressional elections every two years, so no matter what we do, we’ll always be able to be put through a prism as interfering in an election, but I don’t buy it. A guy punches you at a bar, you elbow him in the ribs, and he calls the bouncer? Come on, that’s a coward behavior. That’s bully behavior. We didn’t start this. We are strapped in, though. So, sorry if defending steel and auto jobs inconveniences a Michigan midterm, but what did they expect? We’re not going to turn the cheek. You push a Canadian, we’re going to check you into the boards.
GENE VALAITIS: Yeah. Well, there is a double standard here. The U.S. warns Canada to keep its, and I quote, “nose out of American politics,” while President Trump calls Canadian leaders “governor,” and the U.S. State Department meets with Alberta separatists leaders multiple times, and had planned to meet with uh Parti Québécois officials. So how do you view that?
JON LIEDTKE: I I I view what the United States is doing as pure projection. American pressure used to be subtle. Trump threw subtle into the trash. He screams uh into his megaphone or, more aptly, he he tweets it out on his platform. Calls our Prime Ministers “governors,” threatens to make us the 51st state. This is a man who acts like he’s a cheesy 80s movie villain who belongs on a ski hill trying to take away the kids’ winter vacation. The State Department hosts tea parties these days with Alberta separatists, and even, you know, sets up meetings that would be canceled with Quebec separatists. But if Doug Ford buys an anti-tariff ad with a Ronald Reagan quote, Washington cries “foreign meddling!” This is hilarious. They dish it out, but they can’t take it back. So don’t fight the North if you can’t handle the cold.
GENE VALAITIS: Yeah, you know, there’s an interesting uh fact that we should talk about here. Uh, data shows over half of the GiveSendGo donations to the Ottawa convoy came from the U.S. In fact, it prompted new FINTRAC rules. So should foreign money be allowed in domestic uh protests?
JON LIEDTKE: Foreign money should not be able to cross any of our borders from coast to coast to coast and the land border with the United States uh whatsoever, period. This is domestic interference. And an American stands in the snow with a sign, go for it. That’s free expression. But using dark money, untraceable crypto, wire transfers funding illegal blockades at the Ambassador Bridge and helping the convoy in Ottawa, that and in uh Coutts as well. I mean, that’s foreign financial intervention. And if Beijing can’t buy a Canadian election, Washington shouldn’t be able to fund Canadian blockades.
GENE VALAITIS: Okay. So, um, former U.S. President Barack Obama endorsed former Prime Minister Katy Perry’s boyfriend. So is a president weighing in on a foreign election acceptable, or is that interference? Or does it even matter?
JON LIEDTKE: I don’t think any former president or current president should weigh in on our elections. I don’t think any political operatives from outside of our country should be weighing in. But of course, you know, they have free speech for sure, and Obama is able to tweet from the couch, and Trump is able to tweet from the golf course. But legal doesn’t necessarily mean smart. This is soft interference. If a sitting leader uses state resources to cut an ad, of course that crosses a line. But what we’re talking about here, politicians should recognize that they should stop. They wouldn’t want it reciprocated back towards them. It muddies the water. And quite frankly, I I find it redundant. We already know who Washington likes in Ottawa today, just like we knew who Washington liked when Obama was in office. We don’t need a tweet to figure out the family tree.
GENE VALAITIS: Yeah, you know, I remember when Barack Obama visited Ottawa while he was president, and uh he addressed uh the House of Commons. And at the end of his speech, uh members from all parties started shouting “Four more years! Four more years!” You know, nobody made a big deal about that, so I kind of that’s interesting. Um, long-term strategy, though, Jon. Uh, with trade wars and political friction escalating, how should Canadian leaders navigate this relationship moving forward? Because it is a very important relationship, and it was right up until Donald Trump.
JON LIEDTKE: The United States remains and will continue to remain the most important relationship with Canada, regardless of the tumultuous relationship that we have right now. And I certainly don’t expect things to bounce back to uh the way things were under a new administration, regardless whether or not it will be Republican or Democrat. Um, you know, u- how to navigate it today? Walk softly and carry a big stick. And, you know, quite frankly, spy rules apply. Moscow rules are watch your back. British rules are cover your backside. Canadian rules today: make sure people respect your boundaries or make them terrified to cross them. We have to survive these friction years. We’ve got to hold our ground. We have to wait for a rational counterpart. And anyone expecting a re- reset button, no, that’s that’s that’s dreaming. The cozy border-free fairytale, that’s dead. And rebuilding trust is going to take generations, so we need to hold firm.
GENE VALAITIS: Yeah. Hey, let’s have some fun here. If you had 30 seconds, like a radio commercial, to speak directly to everyday Americans across the border in places like Michigan, Ohio, or New York State, what would your message be? I can’t wait for this.
JON LIEDTKE: Americans, my name is Jon. Stop fighting with your Canadian family. This brawl is a terrible Thanksgiving dinner. Two drunk uncles screaming over the turkey. The rest of us are standing out on the back porch in the freezing cold, having a smoke, waiting for the yelling to stop so we can finally eat some pie. Let’s cut this nonsense. We’re in the interregnum right now between the Canadian and the American Thanksgivings. Let’s get back to business as good neighbors. Let me pass that pie, and the pie in this case is regular trade, open travel, mutual respect, and let’s just get back to the way things were, you guys. It’ll take a little bit, eh? Sorry. Sorry, if we have to say sorry, I’ll do it.
GENE VALAITIS: Sorry, eh?
JON LIEDTKE: Eh!
GENE VALAITIS: You know what’s uh funny, I’ve been talking about this on Late Night News. Um, Donald Trump is out campaigning every single day. You know, good for that, you know, 81 years old, traveling like crazy, getting no sleep, but he is slowly losing his mind. So last night at a rally, in addition to talking about how many male candidates are really handsome and have nice rear ends, which is another story in itself, um, last night he was upset because he did not get the Nobel Peace Prize, but he kept calling it the Pulitzer Prize, which of course is for for journalism, and you know, talking about uh one of the male candidates in uh in uh Kansas, um, and I mean he spent a lot of time admiring this candidate’s rear end. I mean, CNN is running all these clips. I mean, if it wasn’t so sad, it would be hysterical. I mean, I he’s having a meltdown.
JON LIEDTKE: I, you know, I think there should be an intervention at some point here, quite frankly, Gene. Um, but you know, it’s hard to make sense of it. You can’t really decompile what he’s saying, but I’ve said, and a former co-host of mine on another podcast has said, uh, you know, this is a guy who who would be perfect for a late-night comedy show, and I think we should just give him the desk, give him the microphone, and when it comes to, you know, his his outlandish uh ideas and statements, uh, you know, let him say it. And quite frankly, if if we can get through this period by just giving him the Nobel Peace Prize and the Pulitzer, like let’s just do it. I mean, come on, like it’s just one year. We can cancel it afterwards.
GENE VALAITIS: Great take this morning! Thank you, and uh we’ll be talking to you uh let’s see, 9:15 Friday morning. How’s that?
JON LIEDTKE: Looking forward to it, Gene. Thank you.
GENE VALAITIS: There he goes, Jon Liedtke. Liedtke’s Got a Take. You just never know, but I love them!
This aired on 610 CKTB
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