Canada grinds Trump’s Greer

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Sep 01, 2026 View in browser   By Dasha Burns, Adam Wren and Will Steakin Presented by  With help from Eli Okun, Ali Bianco and Irie Sentner Good Tuesday morning, the temperature is heating back up in Washington, but it’s only getting chillier in the Oval Office for one major U.S. trade partner. Get in touch. In today’s Playbook … — Jamieson Greer says there’s no TACO on the table for U.S.-Canada trade negotiations. — House Republicans are at odds ahead of today’s vote on a major preelection priority. — The Boldfaces: Mark Carney, Doug Ford, Chris Pappas, Chip Roy, Mike Johnson, Chuck Edwards, Lisa McClain, Jon Ossoff, Mike Collins, Ed Markey, Seth Moulton and more. DRIVING THE DAY COLD AS ICE: Those in Washington, northern battleground states and over the border waiting for the Trump administration to blink in its trade standoff with Canada should know U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer isn’t even looking. “It’s more their emergency than ours,” Greer told Playbook in an exclusive interview, adding “there are no negotiations happening on trade right now.” One week out from the Sept. 8 deadline for Canada to enact about $20 billion in retaliatory tariffs — matching dollar-for-dollar President Donald Trump’s Aug. 22 duties — Greer said “it’s not clear Canada wants a deal” when asked whether the administration’s offer from earlier this month was still on the table. Instead, and in typical Trumpian fashion, Greer said the White House could up the ante again. “If Canada believes that prohibiting and banning American goods and services is appropriate, then obviously that’s something that the United States should consider as well.” Canadian negotiators made overtures for a year to wind down U.S. tariffs on Canadian steel, aluminum, autos and lumber even though officials in Ottawa “already have the best deal in the world,” Greer said, adding that the administration was willing to bite on Canada’s concept of a “Fortress North America” to counter excess cheap goods from China, Vietnam and elsewhere. “We will bear hug you on this idea of Fortress North America, and we offered that to them, and they looked at it square in the face,” Greer said. “They went back to Ottawa, discussed it further, and they came back and said, ‘No, not unless we get these additional things,’ and then they walked away.” Last-minute asks from the Canadians, including lighter duties on heavy trucks, were largely responsible for tanking the deal, according to Greer, while PM Mark Carney and others blamed White House infighting over who was steering negotiations.   A message from Anthropic: How SoFlo Solar runs their business with help from Claude. Luis Galarza and Laura Gutierrez founded SoFlo Solar to restore solar power for homeowners left with broken systems after installers went out of business. Claude helps them diagnose equipment across manufacturers, translate for crews, and log every job. Learn more.   Finger-pointing aside, Greer said the fallout was over a fundamental misunderstanding of what was — and wasn’t — on offer. “Was that political? I don’t know. Was it economic? … I’m not sure how much economic sense it makes because the choice is not between the current tariffs and … you know, duty-free trade. Like, that is that. Those weren’t the options.” But for all the tough talk, Greer didn’t criticize Carney or other Canadian officials (aside from noting “they have a Hillary Clinton Democratic staffer helping run the government up in Ottawa” — a reference to Maia Johnson, who Carney brought into the prime minister’s office earlier this year). Greer said he doesn't "comment on foreign leaders,” a potential opening to thaw the freeze. And escalation in the energy sector is still off the table — for now — despite Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s threat to cut off energy exports to the U.S., which Greer called “a Chinese type of thing to do.” “We’ve heard from other premiers in Canada saying, ‘Why would we do that?’” Greer said. That’s good news for the administration already under siege for the additional cost burden on voters ahead of November’s midterm elections. (Greer wouldn’t bite when asked if retaliatory tariffs targeting auto and dairy states were Ottawa’s attempt to inflict election pain.) “Every conversation was about the Canadian tariffs, Donald Trump wanting to rename Lake Ontario, and the real pain that’s causing to Canadian Americans, to our trading partnership and to the small business community,” Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas, who’s running for an open Senate seat in New Hampshire, told Playbook’s Eli Okun after a trip to Moose Fest in Colebrook, about eight miles from the Canadian border. “People were remarking they don’t see as many Quebec plates anymore, and the Canadian visitors aren’t coming down to spend their money at New Hampshire businesses. So it’s hurt our seasonal tourism economy. And that’s just another impact of the reckless trade war.” Greer declined to name conditions for returning to the negotiating table. “I would not say there are conditions. It just seems to me that a deal was available, and they didn’t want that. Where is the United States supposed to go from there, right? There’s not a better deal out there available for the Canadians." On Today’s Playbook Podcast: Dasha and Will walk through Greer’s take-no-prisoners stance ahead of Canada’s retaliatory tariff barrage. And Playbook’s Megan Messerly joins to talk JD Vance’s data center boost, Kalshi’s politician problem, and Ken Paxton’s big Texas ad buy.   A message from Anthropic: As case loads grow at Arkana Labs, they use Claude to help process paperwork with 97-98% accuracy. Learn more.   THE DOWNLOAD NEVER A DULL DAY: The House has been back in town for only a few hours, but GOP leaders may already be forced to send members home early given that a handful of House Republicans are threatening to shut down floor business today on a rule vote over frustrations about the Senate-passed CR to fund the government past the midterms. Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris (R-Md.) plans to vote against the rule over the hemp language, and Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) sent a letter to Appropriations Chair Tom Cole and Budget Chair Jodey Arrington last night urging opposition, POLITICO’s Calen Razor and Mia McCarthy report. What the GOP wants to talk about: House GOP leadership will lay out their new messaging targets for the month at this morning’s conference meeting, Playbook’s Ali Bianco reports. Expect to see Republicans hammering the small government theme this week, then turning to tout the 119th Congress, or what Rep. Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) called in a statement “one of the most aggressive and productive Congresses since [Harry] Truman was president.” See the calendar What they aren’t talking about: The Russia sanctions bill, which cleared the House and risks languishing in the Senate, Mia and POLITICO’s Riley Rogerson write. It’s not on the list of bills this week and some top lawmakers say it hasn’t come up. Also on the docket today: The House will vote on censuring Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-N.C.) — and GOP leaders aren’t coming to his rescue, POLITICO’s Chris Marquette and Mia report for Inside Congress. WELL-OILED MACHINE: The president is meeting with oil and gas executives at 1:30 p.m. at the White House. The meeting comes one day after WSJ’s Collin Eaton reported that the Trump administration-backed company North American Blue Energy Partners aims to move more than 50 oil rigs into its Venezuelan oil fields in the coming years. MARKEY V. MOULTON: It’s primary day in Massachusetts, where we’ll be watching how 80-year-old Democratic Sen. Ed Markey fares against Rep. Seth Moulton, who’s more than 30 years his junior. Read more from POLITICO’s Lisa Kashinsky   Rob Sand makes the case for an “outsider” Democrat In the latest episode of On the Road, Jonathan Martin meets Rob Sand at the Iowa State Fair for a conversation on one-party control, rural voters, Democratic strategy and how Sand says he would govern with a Republican legislature. Watch now.     THE FRONT PAGE OSSOFF’S COLLINS CALL: Nearly a week since Sen. Jon Ossoff disavowed popular socialist Twitch streamer Hasan Piker, the Georgia Democrat told Adam in an interview that it’s time for Majority Leader John Thune and NRSC Chair Tim Scott to do the same with his opponent Mike Collins over his controversial staffers. “How many of his neo-Nazi associates must be exposed before Senate Republicans cut bait on his collapsing campaign?” Ossoff told Playbook, punching right after punching left. Ossoff’s comments come after WaPo reported that a former Collins staffer “shared images in June and July on his X account of a swastika and one that depicts himself in Ku Klux Klan robes.” Ossoff called Collins “an unvetted, oppo-pinata dumpster fire,” and somewhat cryptically added: “I am virtually certain that we know much more than the NRSC does about him, and I assure you, there's more to come.” The response: Meyer Siegfried, a Collins spokesperson, told Playbook: “It’s pathetic seeing Jon Ossoff beg for a new opponent just as the polls begin to tighten in this race. True to form, Ossoff sounds just like a trust-fund kid throwing a tantrum.” Bernadette Breslin, NRSC national press secretary, said: “Jon Ossoff wants to use his campaign funds for a 2028 presidential run, but unfortunately for him, Republicans will continue calling out his record of voting for illegal aliens and tax hikes on working families.” JUST VANCE: VP JD Vance, who’s faced skepticism from some in the Jewish Republican community, waded directly into the fray last night at the Republican Jewish Coalition leadership summit and received raucous applause, POLITICO’s Sam Benson reports from Las Vegas. Vance addressed what he called the “elephant in the room”: Israel’s plummeting favorability among young Americans, according to one person in the room for Vance’s speech, granted anonymity to describe an off-record conversation, and audio of the event obtained by POLITICO. Vance also discussed rising antisemitism. More from inside the room from Sam AD IT UP: Allies of Ken Paxton are launching a $15 million ad campaign today, the first major ad buy on behalf of the GOP Senate candidate in his matchup against Democrat James Talarico, Dasha and POLITICO’s Aaron Pellish reported. The two new ads from Lone Star Liberty PAC will air across 18 markets across Texas over two weeks. They mark Paxton’s first significant foray on to the airwaves, jolting a campaign that’s been clouded by concerns over Talarico’s massive cash advantage and Paxton’s electability. In one of the most-watched Latino battleground showdowns in the country, Democrat Manny Rutinel is going up with a new ad this week appealing to Latinos in Colorado’s 8th District with a new tactic: baseball. The $225,000 TV ad buy spotlights Rutinel growing up on Medicaid and working to lower costs — all while swinging a baseball bat, Ali reports. Watch the ad  Pennsylvania Dem Janelle Stelson is hitting the airwaves today in one of the party's top-target districts, spending more than $500,000 across a pair of TV ads, Lisa writes in. One hammers vulnerable GOP Rep. Scott Perry over Social Security; the other calls for term limits and a crackdown on congressional stock trading. Watch the ads   A message from Anthropic: How SoFlo Solar runs their business with help from Claude   5 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW 1. MAD MAGA: MAGA Inc. revved into motion in Michigan this week, but the GOP donor class is peeved that Trump’s super PAC isn’t yet spending enough of its massive $400 million war chest ahead of the midterms, POLITICO’s Alex Gangitano reports. “Our threat level should be up and people are going to have an expectation that you deploy all your resources,” one GOP donor said. Another GOP donor cautioned that it’s hard to move voters after Labor Day. “It’s never too late but the president and his team are sledding way uphill this late in the year,” they said. 2. IRAN IRRITATION: Republicans can’t agree on which tack to take with Iran amid the ongoing war, between a hard-line military response or a slower economic one — but they’re united in annoyance at Trump’s seeming indecision, Megan and Alex report. One GOP strategist likened Trump’s Iran predicament to being stuck in the “friend zone,” adding: “You have two camps that are equally pissed — shows it’s not going great.”   A message from Anthropic: How a small lab is giving more patients next-day answers A kidney disease diagnosis is hard enough without a long wait for answers. As case loads grow at Arkana Labs, they’re using Claude to help process referral paperwork with 97–98% accuracy, so patients still get results the day after a biopsy. Learn more.   3. DRISCOLL OUT: Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, a close Vance ally, submitted his resignation after meeting with Trump and detailing his reservations about the direction of the Army following months of disagreement with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, POLITICO’s Paul McLeary, Dasha and Jack Detsch report. Driscoll’s departure comes as the Pentagon grapples with an extended war in the Middle East and a dearth of Senate-confirmed senior leaders. Meanwhile: The military has no plans to send troops to polling places for the midterms, Joint Chiefs Chair Dan Caine told Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) in a letter released yesterday. “I have neither received nor anticipate receiving any unlawful order concerning the role of the Joint Force in the upcoming November 2026 midterm elections,” he wrote. More from POLITICO’s Elleiana Green 4. FOR YOUR RADAR: CDC Director Erica Schwartz ordered officials at the agency to challenge two measles deaths reported by Pennsylvania — pitting the CDC against a state health department and drawing it into a highly politicized dispute that’s been amplified by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as cases of the infection rise nationwide. More from NYT’s Apoorva Mandavilli and Teddy Rosenbluth 5. FROM RUSSIA, NO LOVE: European officials are bristling at the White House’s decision to include Russia’s finance minister during a G20 gathering of top economic officials — a sharp departure from the way the U.S. has treated Russian officials since the onset of the war in Ukraine, POLITICO’s Michael Stratford and Rasmus Buchsteiner report from Asheville.   Follow the politics of rising power demand POLITICO Surge is here. This free daily newsletter tracks how AI, data centers, electrification and grid pressure are reshaping energy policy, infrastructure and climate politics. Subscribe Now.     TALK OF THE TOWN SPARE CHANGE — The White House is sinking more than $250,000 in taxpayer dollars into renovating its bowling alley — which is reserved only for White House staff and their guests, POLITICO’s Sophia Cai reports. NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM — “Smithsonian changes course, will put Latino museum in existing building,” by WaPo’s Jonathan Edwards: “The decision revives a plan the Smithsonian considered but discarded years ago, a major shift for a project whose supporters have spent decades pushing for a new building on the National Mall designed specifically for the museum. It also gives the Smithsonian a path forward that does not depend on Congress approving construction on one of the undeveloped sites the institution previously selected.” MEDIA MOVE — Ashley Gold is joining Semafor as senior technology correspondent. She previously worked at Axios. TRANSITIONS — Suzy Vazquez is joining Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s (D-Mass.) office as press secretary. She previously worked for Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.). … Isabella DeSheplo is joining the Aluminum Association as manager of government relations. She previously worked at the Cato Institute. … Bethany Stevens is now deputy director of media affairs at the White House. She previously worked at NASA. … … Tim Kocher is now deputy assistant secretary for critical infrastructure at DHS. He previously was in the Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response at DOE and is a Ted Cruz and Trump White House alum. … Ivelisse Porroa is now director of federal government affairs at Fresenius Medical Care, North America. She was previously at Crossroads Strategies. ENGAGED — Lindsey Kolb, VP of public affairs and paid media at the American Beverage Association, and Joshua Ewing, a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force, got engaged Sunday at the Tidal Basin in D.C. The couple met on a dating app in January. Pic, courtesy of Josh Peterson … Another pic WEEKEND WEDDING — Will Green, a deputy assistant secretary at the State Department, and Jessie Kaplan, a former staffer for Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), got married at the Indian Harbor Yacht Club in Greenwich, Connecticut. The ceremony was officiated by Gary Stein, a former justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court. Pic, via Hailey Ullman HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) … David Natonski … POLITICO’s Dustin Gardiner and Oliver Ward … Xochitl Hinojosa … NBC’s Janelle Rodriguez and Priscilla Thompson … Yolanda Caraway … Sue Hensley of Isochrone Communications … Dee Dee Myers … UnidosUS’ Susie Feliz … Tim Truman … C-SPAN’s Craig Caplan … Courtney Dorning … Chris Fleming of Red Horse Strategies … Tara Palmeri … John Jones … Bloomberg’s Kate Davidson and Jessica Estepa … Tess Holcom … Lauren Blair Bianchi of JPMorgan Chase … Libby Liu … BGR’s Jonathan Mantz … Wayne Crews … Rokk Solutions’ Erickson Foster … Anjan Mukherjee … former Rep. Ander Crenshaw (R-Fla.) Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here. Send Playbookers tips to playbook@politico.com or text us on Signal here. Playbook couldn’t happen without our editor Giuseppe Macri and deputy editor Garrett Ross.   Sponsored Survey WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU: Please take a 1-minute survey about one of our advertising partners.     Follow us on X Adam Wren @adamwren Dasha Burns @DashaBurns Will Steakin @wsteaks   Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook  |  Playbook PM  |  California Playbook  |  Florida Playbook  |  Illinois Playbook  |  New Jersey Playbook  |  New York Playbook  |  Canada Playbook  |  Brussels Playbook  |  London Playbook  |  Playbook Paris  |  Berlin Playbook  |  Madrid Playbook  |  Canberra Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters Follow us