Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Tuesday that President Donald Trump gave him a gift ― but it also came with a grim warning.
Speaking at the Canada Investment Summit in Toronto, Carney recalled getting a ceremonial key to the city from his hometown of Fort Smith when he was governor of the Bank of Canada.
“It was an emotional moment,” he said, then added that he received a very similar gift when he visited Trump at the White House last year.
Carney broke out his Trump impression, complete with hand gestures, as he recalled the president’s words.
“Mark, I want to give you something really special,” he said. “So special, Mark. So special.”
It was a golden key to the White House.
“‘You just bring it. They’ll let you in,’” he recalled Trump telling him. “And then he says, ‘Maybe they’ll shoot you.’”
“And that sort of sums up the relationship that we have,” Carney added.
Francis Chung/Politico/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Trump, since taking office, has threatened Canada, insulted its leaders, and launched an expensive trade war.
But Carney said he was grateful for the gift and noted that Trump is a good host.
He did point out that the ceremony would be a little different up north.
“Just to be clear: if we give you a key to Canada, we’re not gonna shoot you here,” he said. “We’re gonna welcome you.”
Trump has been giving ceremonial keys to the White House for years ― including during his previous term. He told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the same thing he told Carney: The key was essentially good forever.
“Even when I’m not president anymore, you can walk up to the front gate of the White House and present it, and they will let you in,” he told Netanyahu, according to a 2022 book by Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law who served as a White House adviser.
Trump even gifted White House keys to visitors when he wasn’t president, including former Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso, during a 2024 meeting at Trump Tower in New York.
Check out Carney’s story ― complete with his brief Trump impression ― below: