U.S. senators try to mend fences with Canada over Trump’s attacks

This was a visit to mend fences by a group of senators who said they understand how much damage has been done. It's not like we are naive about how hard this has been. Especially the border states, every single day we feel it. More than anything, we want to say to our Canadian friends, we still love you as much as we ever have. Vermont Senator Peter Welch spoke with feeling about a library right on the line between Vermont and Quebec that was long a symbol of a friendly open border. It makes us feel better and richer when we maintain those emotional ties that we've had with Canada. But the Trump administration has barred passport-free access for Canadians. And Trump's Homeland Security Chief Christine Noem used the library for a publicity stunt where she jumped back and forth across the borderline, illegally entering Canada while calling the U.S. side number one and the Canadian side 51. This made us heart sick, okay, and that's emotional, it's personal. The bipartisan delegation included Hillary Clinton's Democratic running mate, Tim Kaine of Virginia, and North Dakota Republican Kevin Cramer, who might at least have some influence with Trump. The United States has become an adversary to the Canadian people because of the offense that so many have felt. At the same time, the real adversary for the United States and Canada, our number one adversary, is China. But while Cramer was calling on Canada to unite with the U.S. against China, the U.S. president in Washington was issuing fresh tariff threats against allies in the European Union. I've been saying to everybody, they've treated us very badly over the years. It was formed in order to hurt the United States, in order to take advantage of the United States. Nice words are not going to mend it. I don't think anything anyone would say today would cause the PM and his ministers to say, At almost exactly the same time that these five senators were meeting the press today in Ottawa to mend fences, Donald Trump again mentioned that he wants Canadian-made cars out of the U.S. market, which would devastate the industry on this side of the border. Evidence suggests there was a symbolic side to this trip to Ottawa. You definitely got the sense that these senators were sincere about their desire to restore the relationship, certainly when they talked about the financial hit that their own states are taking from Canadian travel and consumer boycotts, they seemed sincere. But they are just five senators out of a hundred. And Trump's party, of course, controls both houses of Congress. And Donald Trump is still Donald Trump, as we saw today in the Oval Office. Thanks for this, Evan Dyer in Ottawa. Thanks, Erica.