On May 25 President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minster Justin Trudeau had a phone conversation to discuss tariffs put in place by the Trump administration and things got tense when Trump made a grossly false historical reference, according to CNN.
The call was intended for Trump to explain to Trudeau why he was targeting steel and aluminum imports from Canada, to which Trudeau challenged by asking how the tariffs could be a, “national security issue.” And Trump, according to both CBC and CNN, reportedly responded by saying, “Didn’t you guys burn down the White House?” (Likely inspiring some deep, sad sighs from history teachers around the country.)
The question from Trump was in reference to the War of 1812 in which British troops burned down the White House in 1814 response to the attack on York by American troops. York was a territory that later became Canada in 1867, as The New York Times noted in an exhausted and exhaustive explainer, Canada, as a nation, didn’t exist yet to take the blame for that act.
The comments between the two leaders did not appear to dull the relationship as National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow told CNN, “I have no doubt that the United States and Canada will remain firm friends and allies whatever short-term disagreements may occur.”
This isn’t Trump’s first anachronistic history gaffe since taking office. Previously, he made comments about President Andrew Jackson’s feelings on the Civil War that left folks scratching their heads (because Jackson died years before the Civil War happened.)
Trump’s administration declined to comment on the phone conversation but Trump did defend his stance on the tariffs in a tweet this last weekend.