Mark Carney quote on Trump

A post on X on September 2 revived a familiar online pattern around Mark Carney and Donald Trump: a real Carney criticism was quickly blended with harsher language from a social media user. The post, published by @theYear2178, said “Mark Carney is right” and added that Donald Trump is “not a serious President.” The wording matched the tone of a live political argument on X, but not a verified direct quote from Carney. Carney’s documented remarks this week were about trade talks and what he described as unserious conduct from the Trump administration. ### What did Mark Carney actually say? Mark Carney told reporters on September 1 that talks with Washington could resume when “the Americans stop doing memes, stop throwing shade, stop trying to be tough and start being serious about having those discussions,” according to Politico. CBC reported the same remarks and said Carney also described some U.S. comments about Canada and its military as “beneath their office.” (politico.com) Ottawa was the setting for those remarks, which came after U.S.-Canada trade talks broke down on August 21, according to Politico and CBC. Both outlets tied Carney’s comments to a broader dispute that included insults from Trump administration officials and social-media taunts directed at Canada. ### Did Carney call Trump “not a serious President”? (politico.com) The X post’s phrase “not a serious President” appears to be the poster’s characterization, not a documented Carney quote. The reporting reviewed here shows Carney saying the Trump administration should “start being serious,” but not calling Trump “not a serious President” in those words. (politico.com) AFP documented a similar pattern in April 2025, when a harsh anti-Trump statement circulated online as if Carney had said it. AFP found that quote had been misattributed and actually came from a social-media user reacting to one of Carney’s speeches. ### Why did this post spread in replies? The September 2 post landed in an argument that was already active around Carney’s “stop doing memes” line. (politico.com) Carney’s remarks were reported by multiple outlets on September 1 and September 2, giving social-media users a fresh, verified hook for broader attacks on Trump’s competence and political style. (factcheck.afp.com) The replies described in the source briefing centered on MAGA logic, past administrations and whether public attacks on Trump’s competence are effective politics. Those responses fit the way online users often turn a narrow, sourced remark into a wider campaign message, even when the added wording is their own. ### Has this happened before with Carney and Trump? April 2025 offers a direct precedent. AFP said posts across Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X and Bluesky falsely attributed to Carney a statement saying Trump voters had caused “generations-long damage” and got “essentially nothing of value” in return. (politico.com) AFP traced that language to another social-media user, not to Carney himself. That earlier episode matters here because it shows how quickly commentary around Carney and Trump can be recast as if it were a direct quotation. In this case, the verified Carney quote is the “stop doing memes” remark, while “not a serious President” is the X user’s formulation based on it. ### What comes next in the underlying dispute? (factcheck.afp.com) September 8 is the next concrete date in the broader U.S.-Canada clash. Politico reported that Canada is set to trigger new tariffs that day in response to new 50% U.S. tariffs on roughly $20 billion in Canadian imports. X users can still view the original September 2 post by @theYear2178 and its reply thread, while Carney’s underlying remarks remain anchored to his September 1 comments to reporters in Ottawa. (politico.com)