1) Tim Hortons has eye on consumer demand as U.S. tariff uncertainty weighs

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Tara Deschamps, Feb. 12, 2025.

The president of Tim Hortons’ Canadian and U.S. operations is keeping his eye on the tariff feud that has broken out between the chain’s two most prominent markets with the goal of dulling the effects of the spat for consumers as much as possible.

“We are looking at every opportunity very closely to reduce the cost impact,” Axel Schwan said in an interview Wednesday.

The focus comes as companies on both sides of the border and beyond brace for a period of tumult that could kick off if U.S. President Donald Trump makes good on his promise to impose tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods in a few weeks.

While automakers and others relying on steel and aluminum are likely to take a large hit, food also stands to be impacted.

With the growing season in Canada limited by its climate, the country often has to look elsewhere for produce like oranges and lettuce. But it also has strengths that Toronto-based Tim Hortons can leverage. Canada is a major supplier of the world’s canola, grains, potatoes, tomatoes and beef.

As a result, Schwan said Tims’s scrambled egg wraps are packed with 100 per cent Canadian eggs and its coffee is roasted in Ancaster, Ont.

“The vast majority of our products come from Canada, so that’s a very good starting point and we will make it even more Canadian,” he said.

Tims has been working to make those ties more obvious as Canadians turn to supporting homegrown businesses in the face of potential tariffs.

Over the weekend, it ran a Super Bowl ad reimagining the late Stompin’ Tom Connors hit “The Hockey Song” to call football “the second-best game you can name.” The spot ends with the message, “Sorry, not sorry. We’re proudly Canadian.” 

When it shared the spot online, commenters cast doubt on the brand’s Canadian-ness, pointing to the fact that 3G Capital, an investment office for a trio of Brazilian billionaires, has a stake in Tims parent company Restaurant Brands International.

Schwan maintains “we are also the most Canadian brand, according to all the research that we have, and so that’s a really, really strong starting point.”

He spoke to The Canadian Press on the same day as RBI, which also owns Burger King, Popeyes and Firehouse Subs, raised its quarterly dividend to 62 cents US per share, up from 58 cents US per share.

The restaurant owner, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, was encouraged to make the hike as its fourth-quarter net income hit US$361 million.

The profit amounted to 79 cents US per share for the quarter ended Dec. 31, down from US$726 million or US$1.60 per diluted share a year earlier.

On an adjusted basis, it earned 81 cents US per diluted share in its latest quarter, up from an adjusted profit of 75 cents US per diluted share a year earlier.

Revenue totalled US$2.30 billion for the quarter, up from US$1.82 billion in the last three months of 2023, as system-wide sales totalled US$11.28 billion in its latest quarter, up from US$10.89 billion a year earlier.

Overall comparable sales rose 2.5 per cent.

In an earnings call meant to discuss the results, Joshua Kobza, the chief executive of RBI, highlighted Tims’s performance because the company notched its 15^th consecutive quarter of positive traffic growth.

While he attributed some of the increase to the company’s strength in sales during the morning, he also called out efforts to boost transactions it does later in the day by selling loaded bowls and flatbread pizzas, as well as cold and espresso-based beverages.

To get those menu items into customer hands even faster, he said the company had invested in new espresso machines that are being tested at 100 locations and are “showing promising potential.”

It has also zeroed in on speeding up drive-thrus and for the eighth consecutive quarter shaved down the amount of time the average car spends at the window on a weekday. It now sits at 28 seconds. 

Kobza estimates each one second reduction in drive-thru time translates to about $30,000 in incremental annual sales per restaurant.

“This solidifies Tims as one of the fastest drive-thru concepts in North America,” he said.

Companies in this story: (TSX:QSR)

2) Former Mountie Kevin Brosseau named fentanyl czar in reply to Trump’s tariff threats

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Jim Bronskill, Feb 11, 2025

The Liberal government has named Kevin Brosseau, a former senior Mountie, to be the federal point person on fighting the spread of deadly fentanyl.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Brosseau’s role as fentanyl czar will involve working closely with U.S. counterparts to accelerate Canada’s efforts to detect, disrupt and dismantle the illicit trade in the drug.

During his more than 20 years in the RCMP, Brosseau served as a deputy commissioner and the senior Mountie in Manitoba.

More recently, he was deputy national security and intelligence adviser to the prime minister.

U.S. President Donald Trump recently threatened to impose steep tariffs on all goods from Canada, citing the southbound flow of migrants and drugs, including fentanyl.

Trump then agreed to a month-long pause on the tariffs while the U.S. assesses whether Canada’s recent actions satisfy his demands.

3) (Updated) ‘Get the message to President Trump’: Premiers in D.C. deliver anti-tariff message

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Kelly Geraldine Malone, Feb. 11, 2025.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau cautioned U.S. Vice-President JD Vance against steel and aluminum levies Tuesday, as Canadian premiers picked up the Team Canada mantle in Washington to push against U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff threats.

Trudeau and Vance are in Paris for a global summit on artificial intelligence. A senior government official said Trudeau spoke with the vice-president about the impact steel tariffs would have in Ohio, which Vance represented previously in the U.S. Senate.

The president signed executive orders Monday to impose 25 per cent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports into the United States, including Canadian products, starting March 12.

Trudeau called the tariffs “unacceptable” and said he was working with international partners to deliver a “firm and clear” response. 

Federal Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc also spoke with Trump’s newly confirmed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday. The “conversation focused on our common objective — building a strong North American economy that benefits citizens and industries on both sides of our shared border,” Leblanc said in a social media post.

Monday’s duties mark another development in Trump’s larger plans to reshape global trade and American foreign policy through tariffs.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford appealed directly to American business leaders in the United States capital, asking them to reach out to Republican lawmakers and the president himself on Canada’s behalf.

“Let’s stick together and please get the message to President Trump — this is not a good idea for both countries,” Ford told members of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Tuesday.

This diplomatic push by the Council of the Federation, which includes all 13 provincial and territorial premiers, was planned originally as a stand against Trump’s threat of 25 per cent across-the-board tariffs on Canadian imports, with a lower 10 per cent levy on Canadian energy.

Trump delayed those levies until at least March 4 in response to border security commitments from both countries.

Ford said he was disappointed by the latest duties. While premiers will be talking with the federal government about retaliatory measures, Ford said it’s the last thing anyone wants.

Ford, who initially suggested cutting off energy flows to the U.S., is instead leaning into his “Fortress Am-Can” proposal to deepen the resource alliance between the two countries in an effort to push back on the geopolitical influence of China.

Ford was set to meet with key Republicans Lisa McClain — chair of the House Republican Conference — Rep. Rob Wittman and Sen. Kevin Cramer later Tuesday.

British Columbia Premier David Eby, who is also in the U.S. capital, has said Canadians are “way too reliant on the decisions of one person in the White House.” He said it’s critical to reach out to Republicans.

Despite months of diplomacy from all levels of Canada’s government, it remains unclear what Trump wants to see from America’s northern neighbour. His initial tariff threats were linked to border security and fentanyl, but he has since widened his complaints to include defence spending and trade deficits.

Trump said Sunday that he was serious about making Canada the 51st state.

Tariffs appear inevitable, said Eric Miller, president of Rideau Potomac Strategy Group, a Washington-based cross-border consultancy focused on trade.

“I’m not sure much can change Donald Trump’s mind at this point,” Miller said.

Trump might waver when the stock market is affected and prices for products and energy rise, Miller said. It means there will be pain for Canada, he added, but the premiers’ efforts to appeal to Republicans in Washington may blunt the impact.

“This is a case where, unfortunately, President Trump has to touch the hot stove before he realizes how valuable and integrated this relationship is,” Miller said.

Ford said he believes Trump’s tariff sabre-rattling is ultimately a negotiating tactic ahead of a mandatory review of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement. The trilateral pact was negotiated to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement under the first Trump administration.

During negotiations in 2018, Trump floated the idea of a 25 per cent tariff on the Canadian auto sector but it was never implemented. But he did use his national security powers to impose a 25 per cent tariff on steel and a 10 per cent tariff on aluminum imports.

Nearly a year later, Canada and Mexico were able to negotiate exemptions, which Trump removed in his Monday executive orders.

When the trade pact went into effect in 2020, Trump described it as the “best agreement we’ve ever made.”

But Ford said it’s now unlikely the president wants to wait for the 2026 review and Canada should be open to getting “a deal.”

“The only thing certain right now in both economies is uncertainty,” Ford said. — With files from Chuck Chiang in Vancouver and Anja Karadeglija in Paris

4) (Updated) Trudeau says Canada will push back on U.S. tariffs with Trump administration

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Anja Karadeglija, Feb. 11, 2024. 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday Ottawa will work to convince U.S. President Donald Trump that his “unacceptable” steel and aluminum tariffs will hurt both countries.

A senior government official said that Trudeau spoke with U.S. Vice-President JD Vance about the impact steel tariffs would have in Ohio, which Vance previously represented in the U.S. Senate.

Trump signed an executive order Monday to implement 25 per cent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports into the United States, beginning March 12.

Trudeau and Vance are both in Paris for a global summit on AI.

Trudeau briefly spoke to reporters before a plenary at which Vance spoke and Trudeau attended.

Trudeau said his government would “be working with the American administration over the coming weeks to highlight the negative impacts on Americans and Canadians of these unacceptable tariffs.”

Trudeau added he will also be working with “international partners and friends and if it comes to that, our response, of course, will be firm and clear.”

Asked whether his government would impose dollar-for-dollar reciprocal tariffs, Trudeau responded “we hope it will not come to that.”

Speaking in French, he said there have been “initial conversations” with allies. He pointed to his upcoming visit to Brussels on Wednesday where he will meet with EU leaders, and said there is “co-ordination to be done.”

European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen, who is also in Paris for the AI summit, said Tuesday the U.S. tariffs “will not go unanswered,” adding that they will trigger tough countermeasures from the 27-country bloc.

On Monday, Canada’s ambassador to France Stéphane Dion told reporters  European countries are working on a cohesive strategy to address Trump’s tariff threats.

He said they “are working with us about how can we have a cohesive way to convince the U.S. administration that trade wars are painful for everyone … and not something that you should do between friends.”

Dion also told reporters Canada won’t be successful in trade diversification unless that effort includes Europe.

“Now that we see that unfortunately, for now at least, the U.S. administration is not as reliable as we thought, not respecting treaties as we thought, we need Europeans and Canadians to work very closely together,” he said.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh issued a statement Tuesday morning saying the “trade war” Trump unleashed cannot go unanswered and workers are worried about their jobs. 

Singh said he wants to see dollar-for-dollar tariffs put in place “urgently”, 100 per cent tariffs on vehicles from Elon Musk’s Tesla, and changes to government procurement to prioritize the purchase of Canadian-made steel and aluminum.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre also called for dollar-for-dollar steel and aluminum counter tariffs at a news conference in Iqaluit on Monday. 

Poilievre said that under a Conservative government, revenue collected by Canadian tariffs should be used to reimburse affected industries and any surplus would be used to fund broader tax cuts.

As Trudeau visits Paris and Brussels, Canadian premiers are taking up the Team Canada mantle in Washington this week for a joint mission to convince Trump to drop tariff threats for good.— With files from The Associated Press.

5) (Updated) Trump signs order imposing 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminum

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Kelly Geraldine Malone, Feb. 10, 2025

Donald Trump has signed executive orders to slap 25 per cent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports into the United States, including Canadian products, starting March 4 — the same deadline given to Canada to convince the U.S. president to halt his plan for across-the-board duties.

“It’s a big deal. This is the beginning of making America rich again,” Trump said as he signed the executive orders imposing the levies in the Oval Office.

Monday’s orders mark another escalation in Trump’s rapidly changing geopolitical agenda that’s charting America on a new course for foreign policy and trade.

It’s all happening one week after Trump temporarily paused plans to slap Canada and Mexico with 25 per cent across-the-board tariffs and a lower 10 per cent levy on Canadian energy.

Trump delayed those levies until at least March 4 in response to border security commitments from both countries, saying it would allow time to reach a “final economic deal.”

Some experts say Trump’s tariffs are likely a first step in his plan to rattle the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement ahead of a mandatory review in 2026.

Trump did not offer much relief on Sunday for Canadians hoping the delay would allow for a deal ending the tariff threat for good. He told Fox News anchor Bret Baier that he was not joking about making Canada the 51st state.

Canadian premiers are travelling to Washington this week on a joint mission to meet with Republicans lawmakers and attempt to sway the president away from the threatened duties.

Ontario Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford said he spoke with the CEOs of Stelco and Dofasco, prominent Canadian steel companies, about the looming tariffs Monday morning. Ford used Trump’s tariff threats as justification for calling a snap provincial election.

He said Ontario is prepared to react “hard” and “fast.”

In a media statement, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith cited the fact that the initial tariff threat was paused as “further evidence that diplomacy and action on border security matters.”

While Trump’s rhetoric about American expansion is sending shock waves around the world, his new tariffs are a step up from similar to actions taken under his first administration, when the president scrapped the North American Free Trade Agreement.

During negotiations on the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement, commonly dubbed “the new NAFTA,” Trump floated the idea of a 25 per cent tariff on the Canadian auto sector; it was never implemented.

He did use his national security powers to impose a 25 per cent tariff on steel imports and a 10 per cent tariff on aluminum imports in March 2018.

The day after announcing those levies, Trump posted on social media that “trade wars are good, and easy to win.”

Canada and other countries brought their own duties against the U.S. in response. They targeted products for political, rather than economic, reasons — things like yogurt and bourbon coming from the home states of Republican lawmakers.

Nearly a year later, on May 17, 2019, the White House announced a deal had been reached to prevent “surges” in steel and aluminum supplies from Canada and Mexico, ending the trade dispute.

Economists have said Trump’s initial tariffs on steel and aluminum were costly for American companies and consumers.

A report by the Washington-based Tax Foundation said companies were forced to pay higher prices, U.S. exports dropped and the duties resulted in the loss of about 75,000 manufacturing jobs.

About a quarter of all steel used in the United States is imported and Canada is the largest supplier, accounting for nearly 25 per cent of all steel imports in 2023. Data from the U.S. Department of Commerce shows Mexico provided almost 15 per cent of steel imports that year.

The Canadian steel industry has warned that a repeat of Trump’s tariffs would risk a return to the disruption and harm seen in 2018. Catherine Cobden, president and CEO of the Canadian Steel Producers Association, called on the federal government to intervene immediately with retaliatory tariffs.

Perpetual uncertainty is here to stay, said Candace Laing, Canadian Chamber of Commerce CEO and president in response to the new duties. She said it should “galvanize Canada’s political parties to reconvene Parliament and focus on what’s within our control.”

“Businesses and investors already feel on shaky ground with the 30-day tariff pause, and now our steel and aluminum industries — critical to the shared success of both the American and Canadian economies — are first into the fire,” Laing said.— With files from Sonja Puzic in Toronto and Lisa Johnson in Alberta

6) From bagels to ‘Canadianos,’ Trump tariff threat inspires symbolic acts of patriotism

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Canadian Press Staff, February 9, 2025

U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats to impose across-the-board tariffs on Canada — not to mention his musings about making the country the 51st American state — have unleashed an uncharacteristic wave of patriotism across the country, marked by acts big and small.

From flag-inspired Montreal bagels to Super Bowl boycotts, here are some of the ways Canadians are expressing their displeasure with U.S. actions and showing home-country pride.

Canada Bagels

Fairmount Bagel, which has been baking the Montreal staple since 1919, is rolling out a red-and-white twist on a classic in response to the tariff news. Co-owner Rhonda Shlafman said she got the idea while driving home, listening to the news on the radio and looking at the people in cars around her.

“Everybody just looked really sad,” she said in an interview. “So I thought to myself, why don’t I make a Canada bagel? Why don’t I make something that shows everyone here in Montreal and in Canada that we are strong, we are independent, we have our own products, we have our own produce, we have our own lives here.” She said the bagels are made by taking white and red dough, and intertwining them in a colourful, wood-oven-baked treat that she says is a fitting metaphor for Montreal, Quebec and Canada — with a sprinkle of sesame seeds on top.

Maple skies

Canadian pilot Michael Jones made news headlines after he flew his small two-seater Grob G 115 for two hours near the U.S. border, taking a meticulous path to draw a Maple Leaf in the southwestern Ontario sky. 

“I’m proud to be a Canadian,” he said. “So, I thought that was just one way of, you know, kind of showing it there.”

Jones, who has been a pilot and a flight instructor for over four decades, said while Trump uses the 51th comment as negotiating tactic, “it is still not nice things to hear.” 

His real fear is the tariff threats which could hurt Canada’s economy, he said. 

“With everything that’s going on between Canada and the U.S., you know, it’s a little upsetting and sad,” he said in a phone interview. 

Flightradar24 posted the Maple Leaf shape on Facebook on Wednesday, attracting thousands of comments. The image showed Jones’s patriotic two-hour long flight departed from London, Ont., and traced a Maple Leaf path in a large area between Lake Erie and Lake Huron — two of the Great Lakes shared between Canada and the United States — before landing back in London.

“I Am Canadian! And what’s not to love about a Maple Leaf in the sky? Kudos to … this Canadian who found a unique way to express his love for Canada,” wrote a user on X.

Americanos no more

A B.C.-based coffee company is inviting coffee shops across the country to show their displeasure at the U.S. actions by dropping the term Americano, and serving “Canadianos” instead. Kicking Horse Coffee is offering cafés a “Proudly serving Canadianos” window display as a symbol of their participation in the patriotic movement. Chief marketing officer Lori Hatcher-Hillier says now, more than ever, Canadians need to stick together and demonstrate pride in their country. The brand says it has been calling its own Americanos “Canadianos” for 16 years and now it wants others to join in.

Oranges to apples

Carol Ann McDevitt served her first glass of apple cider to her guests Thursday morning at the Roaring ’20s B&B, in Lower Queensbury, N.B. McDevitt, who has owned the bed and breakfast about 40 kilometres west of Fredericton since 2019, said until recently her guests always got a glass of orange juice with their breakfast. But going forward, they’ll be served local cider instead.

The gesture is McDevitt’s way of supporting Canadian-made products and taking a stand against Trump’s proposed tariffs. “It just seemed very unfair. It was unprovoked, and we should do what we can to support our local communities,” she said. She said the vast majority of oranges come from Florida, and labelling on bottles isn’t always clear. Early reviews of the cider have been good, with some clients saying they preferred it, she said.

So long, Super Bowl

Quebec-based brew pub Dieu du Ciel announced this week on social media that it would no longer be broadcasting Sunday’s Super Bowl at its two locations, in Montreal and St-Jérôme. “We have indeed been chilled by recent events and we didn’t have the heart, this year at least, to participate in this great American celebration,” the company wrote on social media. “The current situation is a reminder of the importance of further highlighting our local culture, by promoting programming that reflects our values ​​and our commitment to our community in our pubs.” The social media posts on Facebook and Instagram drew a torrent of comments, both supportive and critical.

The power of the moose

Graphic artist Eric Goggin was at his cottage in Washademoak Lake, N.B., last weekend when he hatched a plan to express his Canadian pride. With a frozen lake as his canvas and his footprints as a brush, he spent more than three hours drawing a striking, 12-metre-high moose in the snow. He was aided by a drone hovering above to help him visualize his work. “Let’s just say I got my steps in and then some,” he said with a laugh.

Goggin said Trump’s talk about tariffs and Canada becoming the 51st state are no laughing matter, and it was what inspired his gesture. “I firmly disagree with everything (Trump) stands for, and to imply that we would even accept as ridiculous an arrangement as becoming another state is just, in my mind, completely treasonous. It’s terrible,” he said. Goggin said he wanted to do something unique to showcase his homeland. “And there’s nothing more Canadian than a moose in the snow.”

(A video of the moose’s creation can be seen at this link: https://youtu.be/hFd-aIe3LlQ?si=NAaxWm6L1VMKygpI)

— With files from Morgan Lowrie in Montreal, Hina Alam in Fredericton, Sharif Hassan in Toronto and Nono Shen in Vancouver.

7) Trump says he is serious about Canada becoming 51st state in Super Bowl interview

Courtesy Barrie360.com and The Associated Press

By Jill Colvin, Feb 9, 2025

President Donald Trump said he is serious about wanting Canada to become the 51st state in an interview that aired Sunday during the Super Bowl preshow.

“Yeah it is,” Trump told Fox News Channel’s Bret Baier when asked whether his talk of annexing Canada is “a real thing” — as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recently warned.

“I think Canada would be much better off being the 51st state because we lose $200 billion a year with Canada. And I’m not going to let that happen,” he said. “Why are we paying $200 billion a year, essentially a subsidy to Canada?”

The U.S. is not subsidizing Canada. The U.S. buys products from the natural resource-rich nation, including commodities like oil. While the trade gap in goods has ballooned in recent years to $72 billion in 2023, the deficit largely reflects America’s imports of Canadian energy.

Trump has repeatedly suggested that Canada would be better off if it agreed to become the 51st U.S. state — a prospect that is deeply unpopular among Canadians.

Trudeau said Friday during a closed-door session with business and labor leaders that Trump’s talk of making Canada the 51st U.S. state was “a real thing” and tied to desire for access to the country’s natural resources.

“Mr. Trump has it in mind that the easiest way to do it is absorbing our country and it is a real thing. In my conversations with him on …,” Trudeau said, according to CBC, Canada’s public broadcaster. “They’re very aware of our resources of what we have, and they very much want to be able to benefit from those.”

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday as he traveled to the Super Bowl game in New Orleans, Trump continued to threaten a country that has long been one of the U.S.’s closest allies. He claimed that Canada is “not viable as a country” without U.S. trade, and warned that the founding NATO member can no longer depend on the U.S. for military protection.

“You know, they don’t pay very much for military. And the reason they don’t pay much is they assume that we’re going to protect them,” he said. “That’s not an assumption they can make because — why are we protecting another country?”

In the Fox interview, which was pre-taped this weekend in Florida, Trump also said that he has not seen enough action from Canada and Mexico to stave off the tariffs he has threatened to impose on the country’s two largest trading partners once a 30-day extension is up.

“No, it’s not good enough,” he said. “Something has to happen. It’s not sustainable. And I’m changing it.”

Trump last week agreed to a 30-day pause on his plan to slap Mexico and Canada with a 25% tariff on all imports except for Canadian oil, natural gas and electricity, which would be taxed at 10%, after the countries took steps to appease his concerns about border security and drug trafficking.

Aboard Air Force One, Trump said that he would on Monday announce a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports into the U.S., including from Canada and Mexico, and unveil a plan for reciprocal tariffs later in the week.

“Very simply it’s if they charge us, we charge them,” he said.

Trump’s participation in the Super Bowl interview marked a return to tradition. Presidents have typically granted a sit-down to the network broadcasting the game, the most-watched television event of the year. But both Trump and his predecessor, Joe Biden, were inconsistent in their participation.

Biden declined to participate last year — turning down a massive audience in an election year — and also skipped an appearance in 2023, when efforts by his team to have Biden speak with a Fox Corp. streaming service instead of the main network failed. During his first term, Trump participated three out of four years.

Trump was the first sitting president to attend the Super Bowl in person — something he told Baier he was surprised to learn.

“I thought it would be a good thing for the country to have the president at the game,” he said.

During his flight to New Orleans, Trump signed a proclamation declaring Feb. 9 “the first ever Gulf of America Day” as Air Force One flew over the body of water that he renamed by proclamation from the Gulf of Mexico.

Trump in the interview, also defended the work of billionaire Elon Musk, whose so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, has been drawing deep concern from Democrats as he moves to shut down whole government agencies and fire large swaths of the federal workforce in the name of rooting out waste and inefficiency.

Musk, Trump said, has “been terrific,” and will target the Department of Education and the military next.

“We’re going to find billions, hundreds of billions of dollars of fraud and abuse,” Trump predicted. “I campaigned on this.”

He was also asked about his dancing, which has become a popular meme on social media.

“I don’t know what it is,” he said. “I try and walk off sometimes without dancing and I can’t. I have to dance.”___ Associated Press writer Darlene Superville aboard Air Force One contributed to this report.