Trump supporters echo anti-Canada rhetoric at GOP convention

Trump supporters echo anti-Canada rhetoric at GOP convention KELLY GERALDINE MALONE DALLAS THE CANADIAN PRESS PUBLISHED 6 HOURS AGO UPDATED 3 HOURS AGO Open this photo in gallery: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at the Republican convention on Wednesday. ALEX BRANDON/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS COMMENTS SHARE SAVE FOR LATER Listen to this article Learn more about audio Log in or create a free account to listen to this article. Thousands of U.S. President Donald Trump’s most ardent followers have gathered in Dallas for “Trump-a-palooza” this week – and many are parroting the president’s constant bashing of Canada. Lona Heins from Tennessee said Canada is now “communist” and no longer shares the same values as the United States. “It’s contentious. I think Canada is socialist. It’s much, much more socialist,” she said. “And I’m not even going to say that word anymore. It’s communist. We share different values now.” Like many Trump supporters at the unusual two-day Republican midterm convention, Heins spoke highly of Canadians and said she knows many people north of the border. Trump pledges to pay every American $5,000 if Republicans win House and Senate Heins, 58, said she was raised in South Dakota with family in North Dakota and Canadians were like family back then. “What I see in Canada is not the Canada I remember growing up,” she said. She said her change in opinion didn’t come from bilateral tensions over trade, which she wants to see resolved. She said she needed more information before speaking about the trade dispute. “I wish that there was a way for them to fix it but I stand with my president,” she said. “I’m here for Donald J. Trump. It makes me sad but I hope there’s a way they can come to an agreement.” Thousands of U.S. President Donald Trump's most ardent followers have gathered in Dallas for a Republican convention and many are parroting the president's constant comments bashing Canada. THE CANADIAN PRESS Trump on Tuesday escalated the trade war with Canada, signing executive orders to ban a range of Canadian exports and shuffle tariffs on others. Most imports of Canadian-made liquor, motorcycles, and a handful of dairy products will be banned from the United States at the end of September. Tensions between the countries have been riding high since trade talks broke down last month. In response, Trump hit an array of Canadian goods with 50 per cent duties and Canada responded with its retaliatory tariffs earlier this…