USA · updated 1h ago · 3 min read
Mark Carney Says Donald Trump Warned Him With White House Key: “Maybe They’ll Shoot You”
Trump gave Carney a gold White House key and joked about entry. The joke included 'maybe they'll shoot you,' reflecting tense Canada-U.S. relations.
Carney's joke is used to imply different things about the relationship.
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Some outlets stress the grim punchline, others highlight it as deliberately joking.
Key and a warning
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney told investors at the Canada Investment Summit in Toronto that U.S. President Donald Trump gave him a box containing a “big gold key” at the White House and said, “You just bring it, they let you in.”
““Maybe they’ll shoot you.””
Carney said Trump then added a darker punchline, “maybe they’ll shoot you,” and he described the exchange as “sort of sums of the relationship that we have.”
Carney framed the anecdote as a contrast between Canada and the United States, saying, “In Canada, you get the key, you’re in, and the U.S. they might shoot you.”
The story was recounted alongside Carney’s remarks about the broader Canada-U.S. trade fight, including that trade talks between the two countries collapsed last month before the United States imposed 50 percent tariffs on Canadian goods.
In Toronto, Carney also said Canada intends to take a long-term approach to negotiations with Washington rather than rush into a new trade agreement, while telling attendees, “We will always be neighbors.”
Audience laughter, political context
Carney delivered the story with a “Trump impression” at the Canada Investment Summit, including hand gestures, as he recounted Trump’s words beginning with “Mark, I want to give you something really special.”
He told the audience that Trump said, “So special, Mark. So special,” before describing the key to the White House and the follow-up line, “‘Maybe they’ll shoot you.’”
Carney also added a clarification directed at the idea of keys to Canada, saying, “Just to be clear, if we give you a key to Canada, we’re not gonna shoot you here,” and “We’re gonna welcome you.”
The remarks came as Carney spoke amid escalating tensions between Ottawa and Washington, with the dispute described as involving tariffs, trade disputes and the future of U.S.-Canada relations.
Newsweek reported that Carney’s comments drew attention as he delivered a broader speech about Canada’s economic future during a tense May 6, 2025 White House meeting focused on tariffs and trade disputes.
What’s at stake next
Carney’s key story was told against a backdrop of a trade dispute in which the United States imposed 50 percent tariffs on around $20 billion worth of Canadian goods, prompting retaliatory measures from Canada.
“Trade talks between the two countries collapsed last month before the United States imposed 50 percent tariffs”
The dispute described in the reporting included that the United States imposed a 50 percent tariff on $27.6 billion of Canadian goods effective August 22, with Canada announcing matching tariffs on affected U.S. products effective September 8.
Carney told attendees that roughly 80 percent of trade between the two countries remains tariff-free and said, “There is a mutually beneficial arrangement that can be had,” adding, “When it is the right time to strike that deal, we'll be ready to do that.”
In the same remarks, he said Canada intends to emerge from the trade conflict as a stronger and more independent economy, and he told “to our American friends” that “We will always be neighbors.”
The Canada Investment Summit context also included a push to attract capital, with the reporting stating the summit was Carney’s attempt at attracting billions of dollars in capital to Canada and court the world’s investors as part of a goal to attract $1 trillion in investments over the next five years.