Trump says Canadian truckers treated worse than drug dealers and rapists and ‘hunted down like enemies’

Former president backed protesters in speech at CPAC conference

Former President Donald Trump unloaded on Canada’s government on Saturday during an address to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), where he portrayed the participants of a protest against Covid-19 vaccine mandates as being “hunted” by their government.

Mr Trump made the remarks during a wide-ranging address to the annual conference that mirrored his rambling campaign rally appearances. His visit to the Orlando venue comes as most political observers expect him to make an announcement about potentially running for president again in the months ahead.

CPAC latest – live updates

"The tyranny we have witnessed in Canada in recent weeks should shock and dismay people all over the world,” claimed Mr Trump on Saturday.

"They have been slandered as Nazis, racists and terrorists — these are the names they've been called.”

He went on to claim that the protesters were being “hunted down like enemies of their own government” after dozens were arrested and riot police were dispatched by the government under emergency powers to detain protesters and move trucks that had ensnared Ottawa’s traffic for weeks.

"I watched them; I saw those Maple Leafs all over, the flags and the love for their country. Plenty of Americans were there too, and they love our country. They're being hunted down like enemies of their own government and treated worse than drug dealers and murderers or rapists,” said Mr Trump.

Mr Trump and other Republicans have remained vocally supportive of the trucker protests against vaccine mandates even as the mandate instituted by the Biden administration ordering vaccinations or testing for employees at large businesses is being withdrawn following court challenges and many US municipalities are already signaling an end to Covid mandates.

Supporters of the trucker protests have faced criticism that their views of mandates and guidelines in liberal-controlled cities and areas do not correspond with reality. Many still are holding out hope that a similar trucker convoy effort will be able to ensnarl traffic in Washington DC (which announced the end to its vaccine and mask mandates more than a week ago) and continue to portray the most basic attempts to mitigate the spread of Covid-19 as draconian anti-freedom measures of control.

The Republican Party remains heavily divided on the issue of vaccinations in general. Some, like Mr Trump, have touted the vaccines developed under his White House’s Operation Warp Speed program, while others like Marjorie Taylor Greene and Florida’s Ron DeSantis have embraced the path of misinformation and chosen to either denigrate the effectiveness of vaccines or claim (falsely) that they are dangerous or untested.