Internet reacts to Trump asking if Canada 'burned down the White House'

Jun 7 2018, 2:58 am

According to a CNN report, a “testy” phone call recently took place between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and President Donald Trump regarding steel and aluminum tariffs implemented on imports coming from Canada.

During the conversation, Trudeau questioned Trump about how he could justify the tariffs as a matter of “national security.” Trump responded with a puzzling— and erroneous —question about Canadian history.

“Didn’t you guys burn down the White House?” Trump asked, referring to the War of 1812.

The thing is, the War of 1812 involved a conflict between the US and Britain. In August 1814, the White House was attacked by the British in response to an American attack on York, Ontario, which is a territory that belonged to England and is now part of modern-day Canada.

But while the President of the United States may be unsure about North American history, many others took the opportunity to quickly (and hilariously) correct the president, as well as add their own thoughts on the whole situation.

At least we know some people paid attention in history class.

With files from Simran Singh

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