Donald Trump had never expressed much interest in the Gordie Howe International Bridge, which will soon link Michigan and Ontario. In fact, the Republican president approved of the project during his first term and had said effectively nothing about it since.
That is, until last week, when Trump announced that he intends to block its opening.
“I will not allow this bridge to open until the United States is fully compensated for everything we have given them, and also, importantly, Canada treats the United States with the Fairness and Respect that we deserve,” the president wrote via his social media platform. (The same missive said China has a fiendish plot to ban hockey in Canada, which I continue to find hilarious.)
There was no obvious reason for Trump to make such a declaration — that is, until The New York Times reported on what happened just hours beforehand:
The billionaire owner of a bridge connecting Michigan with Canada met Howard Lutnick, the U.S. Secretary of Commerce, on Monday hours before President Trump lambasted a competing span, in the latest flashpoint in the deteriorating relationship between the United States and Canada.
Matthew Moroun is a Detroit-based trucking magnate whose family has operated the Ambassador Bridge between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, for decades. He met on Monday with Mr. Lutnick in Washington, according to two officials briefed on the meeting who requested anonymity to discuss a private conversation.
According to the Times’ report, which has not been independently verified by MS NOW, after Lutnick spoke to the well-connected billionaire donor, the commerce secretary spoke with Trump by phone. Shortly afterward, Trump issued his odd threat.
Even in a White House known for corruption, this appeared quite brazen.
In a piece for MS NOW published over the weekend, former Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan explained, “The busiest northern border crossing in the United States is the one between Detroit and Windsor, Canada. Billions of dollars of manufacturing and agricultural goods cross this border every day, as well as essential workers and professionals. This corridor is economically vital for the United States and crucially important to our national security.”
As things stand, Stabenow added, a single, privately owned toll bridge “dominates this critical trade corridor.” That bridge — you guessed it — is owned by the Moroun family, which wants to maintain its near-monopoly.
As of last week, the American president apparently decided to help the Morouns, regardless of the economic impact on Michigan.
Trump’s seemingly corrupt hysterics notwithstanding, there’s no reason for U.S. officials to oppose this project. Canada footed the bill for its construction, and it will collect toll revenue until it recoups its costs. At that point, the bridge will be jointly owned by both countries.
Yes, Trump and his White House team have come up with some creative new objections to the project they used to support, though as The Atlantic’s Jonathan Chait explained, “Trump’s stated demands to open the bridge are a mixture of fantasy and contrived grievance.”
The editorial board of The Wall Street Journal went so far as to label the mess Trump’s “Bridgegate,” harking back to the scandal that did lasting harm to former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
Time will tell what becomes of the burgeoning fiasco, but Democrats on the House Oversight Committee launched an investigation into the allegations last week. Watch this space.
