In a revealing episode that underscores former President Donald Trump’s transactional and zero-sum approach to international relations and economics, Trump recently threatened to block the opening of the new Gordie Howe International Bridge between Michigan and Ontario. The bridge, a major binational infrastructure project fully financed by Canada and set to provide a critical, efficient trade route, became a target after Trump was reportedly lobbied by the owner of the competing, privately-held Ambassador Bridge. Trump’s social media ultimatum demanded unspecified compensation and „respect” from Canada, while propagating false claims about the bridge’s construction. This intervention prioritizes the rent-seeking interests of a single billionaire, Matthew Moroun, over the broader economic benefits the new bridge offers to consumers and businesses on both sides of the border.
The context exposes a stark contrast between public good and private monopoly. For decades, the Moroun family’s Ambassador Bridge has been the only trucking crossing in the Detroit-Windsor corridor, enabling the collection of high tolls amid chronic congestion. The publicly-owned Gordie Howe Bridge, agreed upon in 2012, was designed to break this bottleneck, promising billions in economic savings. Trump’s move to potentially halt its opening at the behest of a direct competitor exemplifies his economic instincts: favoring loyal oligarchs and perceived personal tribute over market principles that generate widespread prosperity. His demands are factually baseless, as the bridge already stipulates equal future ownership and utilized American materials, revealing a strategy built on contrived grievance.
Ultimately, this incident serves as a prototypical case study of Trumpian economics, which often substitutes innovation and wealth creation with the hoarding of power and the extraction of rents. By siding with a monopolist against a project that would expand trade and lower costs for millions, Trump demonstrates a pre-capitalist, mercantilist mindset. His actions shrink the overall economic pie while redistributing a larger slice to a favored beneficiary. The bridge dispute is not about advancing American interests but about enforcing a personalistic, transactional style of governance where policy is wielded as a tool for reward and punishment, undermining both diplomatic norms and sound economic policy.
Ez a cikk a Neural News AI (V1) verziójával készült.
Forrás: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/02/trump-detroit-windsor-bridge/685967/.