‘Kiss my ass’? Doug Ford finds the perfect words for Donald Trump

Read the original at Toronto Star ↗
Cite

Coyle, J. (2026, August 26). ‘Kiss my ass’? Doug Ford finds the perfect words for Donald Trump. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/kiss-my-ass-doug-ford-finds-the-perfect-words-for-trump/article_47c4792d-5a6c-4087-80eb-22b01b69979b.html

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Toronto Star · collected 2026-08-26 · by Jim Coyle

Quick Summary

Ontario Premier Doug Ford publicly insulted US President Donald Trump on Monday, saying "kiss my ass" in response to Trump's trade policies against Canada. The comment was made during a press conference where Ford also hinted at reinstating tariffs on Ontario electricity shipments to the US if necessary. This is not typical Canadian diplomacy or international discourse, but some are framing it as a long-overdue rejection of Trump's behavior. Doug Ford's comments have been widely reported and praised by some Canadians who feel he is standing up to a leader they view as arrogant and unacceptable.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-08-26, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

Here's a summary of the news story:

Naheed Nenshi, the leader of the Alberta NDP, has urged Premier Danielle Smith to cancel or postpone the upcoming referendum on separating from Canada due to the ongoing trade war with the US. The referendum is scheduled for October 19 and will ask voters whether they want to start the process of holding a future binding vote on separation.

Nenshi's demand was met with skepticism by some, who noted that he had previously opposed the idea of a separation referendum. Premier Smith rejected Nenshi's request, saying that the trade war was an opportunity for Alberta and Canada to stand together against the US.

Meanwhile, other provinces are also considering their stance on the trade war. Alberta and Saskatchewan have rejected suggestions that they impose export levies on natural resources such as oil and potash in retaliation for US tariffs, with Premier Smith saying that such a move would be "disastrous" and would harm not just Albertans but also other provinces.

The federal government has announced its plan to impose countertariffs on hundreds of US exports, including clothing and apparel, appliances, and dairy products. However, it has removed seafood and fish products from the list of counter-tariffs due to concerns about broader economic harms. The US has warned that further Canadian retaliation will not be tolerated.

The trade war is also being used as a rallying cry by some who are opposed to separation. A pro-unity group called Forever Canadian has seen an increase in support and interest in its patriotic lawn signs, with over 11,000 viewers attending an online town hall meeting last weekend.

Written for “Canada US Trade Dispute Escalation” on 2026-10-16, grounded in this article and the 53 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Canada US Trade Dispute Escalation
Politics · 54 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans strongly left and hedges 4% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
ABC News (US)
⚖️ Leans strongly right further right than this 🔴 4% hedged 1 of 27 📰 publisher trust 59
“Both articles describe the same exchange between Doug Ford and Donald Trump, with both mentioning the phrase 'kiss my ass' and referencing the trade war between the US and Canada.”
National Post
⚖️ Leans strongly right further right than this 🔴 3% hedged 1 of 39 📰 publisher trust 60
“Both articles mention Prime Minister Mark Carney and President Donald Trump, and the quotes from Doug Ford in Article B are a response to the situation described in Article A.”
The Independent
⚖️ Leans strongly right further right than this 🔴 12% hedged 3 of 24 📰 publisher trust 59
“Both articles describe President Trump's feud with Ontario Premier Doug Ford, and specifically mention Doug Ford's response to Trump's insult”
Semafor
⚖️ Leans right further right than this 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 5 📰 publisher trust 60
“Both articles describe the public sparring between Trump and Canadian officials, specifically Ontario Premier Doug Ford, regarding tariffs and beef imports.”
National Post
⚖️ Leans strongly right further right than this 🔴 14% hedged 5 of 37 📰 publisher trust 60
“Both articles mention Doug Ford's comment 'kiss my ass' and describe it as a response to Donald Trump, with identical dates and times”
National Post
⚖️ Leans strongly right further right than this 🔴 10% hedged 3 of 31 📰 publisher trust 60
“Both articles mention Doug Ford's quote 'kiss my ass' to Donald Trump, indicating they are reporting on the same incident”
The Guardian
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 4% hedged 1 of 24 📰 publisher trust 67
“Both articles mention Doug Ford's insult towards Donald Trump, and their publication dates are only one day apart.”
The Independent
⚖️ Leans strongly left 🔴 8% hedged 3 of 40 📰 publisher trust 59
“Article A mentions the Canadian Premier Wab Kinew's statement, while Article B mentions Ontario Premier Doug Ford's statement, indicating two separate reactions to Trump”
The Bulwark
⚖️ Leans left further right than this 🔴 17% hedged 1 of 6
“Article A describes a collapse in trade negotiations between the US and Canada, while Article B quotes an Ontario Premier's sarcastic remark towards Trump, but does not mention any new event or development related to the trade deal”
National Post
⚖️ Leans strongly right further right than this 🔴 6% hedged 2 of 36 📰 publisher trust 60
“Article A discusses trade negotiations between Canada and the US, while Article B is about Doug Ford's response to Donald Trump, but there is no mention of a single specific event that both articles are referring to”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
23
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
4%
1 of 23 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans strongly left
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
63/100
Toronto Star's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
54
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-08-26 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Toronto Star · 7618 article(s) · 21 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 21 correction(s)
2026-10-07
Correction
2026-09-24
Correction

Who wrote this

Jim Coyle
1 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 So maybe it’s time to speak our contempt.
The only article under this byline in the corpus.

Topics

Canada Canadian Canadians Ontario U.S.

Subjects

Doug Ford PERSON · 3× Ford ORG · 3× Ontario GPE · 3× Trump PERSON · 3× Canada GPE · 2× Canadian NORP · 2× Canadians NORP · 2× Donald Trump PERSON · 2× U.S. GPE · 2× the United States White House ORG · 1×

Narrative

Ford said that since Trump went to war against Canada with tariffs he wields like Agent Orange “everything is on the table” — including the return of a 25-per-cent surcharge on Ontario electricity shipments to the U.S. “Watch how he does cartwheels and the shouts and screams when we put the surcharge on,” Ford taunted.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-08-26
🔮 So maybe it’s time to speak our contempt.
2026-08-26 · Toronto Star
‘Kiss my ass’? Doug Ford finds the perfect words for Donald Trump · assertive framing

Claims (23 extracted, 1 hedged)

Beware the fury of a patient man, the old saying goes. asserted
saying → beware → man
And this country’s ire, erupting in recent days after years of patience in the face of outrageous provocation, is both justified and well-aimed. asserted
ire → erupt → provocation
The target is the richly deserving buffoon who currently occupies — and by his presence continues to desecrate — the United States White House. asserted
who → occupy → House
Ontario Premier Doug Ford likely spoke for multitudes on Monday when he invited President Donald Trump to “kiss my ass.” asserted
he → speak → ass
“And I have a lot of real estate on my ass, so he has a lot of room to kiss my ass. asserted
he → have → ass
I just do. asserted
I → do → ?
I’m a big dude. asserted
I → ’m → ?
It is not normally the Canadian way of discourse or doing business, much less crucial international trade talks. asserted
It → do → business
But didn’t it sound delightful? asserted
it → sound → ?
Tact and restraint and Canadian good manners seemed wasted on a coarse and colossally boorish man who has rendered our neighbour to the south unrecognizable. asserted
neighbour → waste → south
So maybe it’s time to speak our contempt. asserted
it → ’ → contempt
Maybe it’s long past time, in fact, for people in high office around the world to stop seeking to curry favour or mercy from a lout and to start speaking to him in terms he deserves. asserted
he → ’ → terms
To speak to him the way he speaks to and about others. asserted
he → speak → others
Besides, Ford was brandishing more than just insults. asserted
Ford → brandish → insults
Ford said that since Trump went to war against Canada with tariffs he wields like Agent Orange “everything is on the table” — including the return of a 25-per-cent surcharge on Ontario electricity shipments to the U.S. “Watch how he does cartwheels and the shouts and screams when we put the surcharge on,” Ford taunted. asserted
Ford → say → surcharge
Asked if Ontario might relaunch its antitariff ad campaign featuring former U.S. President Ronald Reagan — a tactic that infuriated Trump — Ford said “stay tuned, that’s all I have to say, stay tuned.” uncertain
I → ask → Trump
It’s been 200 years since Hans Christian Andersen illustrated the concept of truth over toadyism in his fairy tale “The Emperor’s New Clothes.” asserted
Andersen → illustrate → tale
In the story, everyone goes along with the great big lie that the emperor is wearing a fabulous new suit of clothes until a child blurts out that the emperor is really wearing nothing at all. asserted
emperor → go → nothing
Today, Donald Trump is that deluded emperor, his MAGA followers are the gullible townsfolk buying the lie of his majesty, and Doug Ford is that child. asserted
Ford → buy → majesty
Happily for patient Canadians who have had enough of Trump, Doug Ford was born for this kind of thing. asserted
Ford → have → thing
He lives for a good, old-fashioned, bare-knuckle scrap. asserted
He → live → scrap
There is no one better suited to tell America’s mad king just how truly, totally, disgustingly naked he is, or what Canadians think of him. asserted
Canadians → be → him
Didn’t it feel good? asserted
it → feel → ?
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