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Oct. 23 (UPI) — President Donald Trump late Thursday terminated all trade negotiations with Canada over an ad campaign using a speech on tariffs by former U.S. President Ronald Reagan.

In the statement on his Truth Social media platform, Trump said, “TARIFFS ARE VERY IMPORTANT TO THE NATIONAL SECURITY, AND ECONOMY, OF THE U.S.A. Based on their egregious behavior, ALL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WITH CANADA ARE HEREBY TERMINATED.”

In the 1-minute ad, excerpts of Reagan’s April 25, 1987, radio address are heard.

“When someone says, ‘Let’s impose tariffs on foreign imports,’ it looks like they’re doing the patriotic thing by protecting American products and jobs,” Reagan is heard saying in the commercial over scenes of people working on farms and in cities.

“And sometimes it looks like it works, but only for a short time. But over the long run, such trade barriers hurt every American worker and consumer.”

The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute took exception to the commercial and said the Ontario government did not seek permission to use and edit the former Republican president’s remarks.

Editing omitted the context of Reagan’s comments, which was to defend tariffs that he placed on Japanese imports, according to CNBC.

“The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute is reviewing its legal options in this matter,” it said in a statement.

CNBC published transcripts of the ad and Reagan’s original comments in their entirety for comparison.

In unveiling the reportedly $53.5 million ad campaign, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said, “Using every tool we have, we’ll never stop making the case against American tariffs on Canada. The way to prosperity is by working together.”

Ford on Friday morning took to social media to quell the controversy.

“Canada and the United States are friends, neighbors and allies,” Ford said in a post on X.

“President Ronald Reagan knew that we are stronger together,” he continued. “God bless Canada and God bless the United States.”

Relations between the close trade allies have been greatly strained under the Trump administration over the president’s tariffs as well as remarks about making Canada the 51st state.

Trade tensions between the two have intensified, with the trade negotiations that Trump severed intended to bring stability and calm to their partnership.

Last week, the government of Ontario, Canada’s most populated province and home to its largest city, Toronto, unveiled a new ad campaign that uses Reagan’s words to criticize Trump’s tariffs.

Sept. 24 (UPI) — The Trump administration has terminated the nearly 75-year-old advisory committee aimed at encouraging and retaining women in the armed forces over accusations of promoting a “divisive feminist agenda,” Pentagon officials said.

The decision to disband the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services was made by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson said in a Tuesday statement on X.

“The committee is focused on advancing a divisive feminist agenda that hurts combat readiness, while Secretary Hegseth has focused on advancing uniform, sex-neutral standards across the department,” she said.

Joel Valdez, Department of Defense acting deputy press secretary, defended the decision to disband DACOWITS, suggesting online that the committee was no longer needed.

“The panel, DACOWITS, existed during the last administration’s recruitment and retention crisis,” he said on X.

“With female recruitment numbers soaring under President Trump @SecWar’s leadership, it is clear that DACOWITS is not the reason women are joining the military.”

The Pentagon added: “We are cleansing the Department of wokeness.”

The committee was established in 1951, making it one of the Defense Department’s oldest advisory bodies. According to its website, it is composed of civilian women and men appointed by the Defense secretary to advise on matters and policies related to the recruitment, retention, employment, integration and well-being of women in the military.

Its disbandment comes as the Trump administration conducts a cultural overhaul of the military, in an effort to remove so-called left-leaning ideology.

Among the changes imposed by Hegseth are grooming standards to be clean-shaven and “neat in presentation,” banning transgender Americans from serving in the armed forces, tightening restrictions on media coverage and eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, among others.

It has also signaled a cultural transformation through promoting a so-called warrior ethos as counter to a “woke” culture as well as renaming military bases after Confederate soldiers who fought against the United States in the Civil War.

He has also attempted to rename the Department of Defense the department of war, a change that requires congressional approval.

During his confirmation hearings, Hegseth came under Democratic criticism for sexual misconduct, which he denied, as well as for saying that women should not serve in combat roles in the U.S. military.

May 12 (UPI) — Homeland Security is ending the Temporary Protected Status program for Afghanistan with more than 9,000 nationals residing in the United States facing deportation, Secretary Kristi Noem announced Monday.

TPS for them will expire May 20 and the program’s elimination is set for July 12, the federal agency said.

Noem determined that permitting Afghan nationals to remain temporarily in the United States “is contrary to the national interest of the United States,” according to a news release.

“This administration is returning TPS to its original temporary intent,” Noem said. “We’ve reviewed the conditions in Afghanistan with our interagency partners, and they do not meet the requirements for a TPS designation. Afghanistan has had an improved security situation, and its stabilizing economy no longer prevent them from returning to their home country.”

Noem also claimed that the termination aligns with the Trump administration’s efforts to root out fraud in the immigration system.

“The termination furthers the national interest as DHS records indicate that there are recipients who have been under investigation for fraud and threatening our public safety and national security,” Noem said.

The TPS program provides temporary legal status and work authorization to nationals from countries experiencing armed conflict, natural disasters, or other extraordinary conditions.

President Joe Biden initially designated Afghanistan for TPS for 1 1/2 years on May 20, 2022. It was extended another 18 months on Nov. 21, 2023.

The United States completed its withdrawal from Afghanistan on Aug. 30, 2021, ending its 20-year military presence in the country. There was a peace agreement with the Taliban.

At least 60 days before a TPS designation expires, the agency’s secretary is required to review the conditions in a country designated for TPS to determine whether the conditions supporting the designation continue to be met. One month ago, DHS said Afganistan “no longer continues to meet the statutory requirements of its TPS designation.”

Politico reported that the Trump administration considered exempting Christians from the TPS renovation because they face persecution if sent back to the Taliban-controlled country.

Nationals from countries experiencing armed conflict, natural disasters or other extraordinary conditions. are given legal status and work authorization.

Refugee rights groups blasted the decision.

“It’s rooted in politics,” Afghan Evac posted on X. “Afghanistan remains under the control of the Taliban. There is no functioning asylum system. There are still assassinations, arbitrary arrests, and ongoing human rights abuses, especially against women and ethnic minorities.

“What the administration has done today is betray people who risked their lives for America, built lives here, and believed in our promises. This policy change won’t make us safer — it will tear families apart, destabilize them, and shred what’s left of our moral credibility.”

The group said it “will fight this with everything we’ve got: in the courts, in Congress, and in the public square. The United States cannot abandon its allies and call that immigration policy.”

Earlier, Trump terminated TPS protections for about 532,000 people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela in the United States.

Massachusetts-based U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani, appointed by President Barack Obama, ruled on April 15 against the Trump administration. It was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court last week.

Separately, District Judge Edward Chen in San Francisco, appointed by President Barack Obama, on March 31 blocked the plan to end the status for 350,000 from Venezuela, and the Justice Department filed an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court. Their status was to end April 7.

Another 250,000 immigrants from the Central American country who arrived before 2023 will lose their status in September.

In 2018, the same judge temporarily blocked the first Trump administration’s decision to end TPS for immigrants from four countries: El Salvador, Haiti, Sudan and Nicaragua.