At a fundraising speech Wednesday, President Donald Trump reportedly bragged about making up trade information in a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
The Washington Post obtained audio from the speech. The outlet reports Trump told Trudeau that the U.S. has a trade deficit with Canada, even though Trump "had no idea" if it was true.
Trudeau countered Trump's claim, emphasizing there is no deficit. Trump insisted Trudeau was wrong and instructed staff to verify the information because he "couldn't believe it."
Trump says he admitted Trudeau was right about the deficit but that it "doesn't include energy and timber." According to the U.S. trade representative office's most recent data — from 2016 — the U.S. had a trade surplus with Canada that year.
