The water carriers for the Trump Whisperer are out in full force today, blissfully unaware how stupid it looks to portray a stunning defeat as a victory. It’s notable that no one wants to mention the elephant in the room: the undue influence of the Canadian dairy lobby which is a major reason why these talks went nowhere.

Payne thinks Canada has leverage — aluminum, critical minerals, electricity, oil and potash — and should be using them to retaliate. She said she has repeated that message to Canada’s ambassador to the U.S. and the prime minister’s office.

“It’s important right now that we draw a line in the sand and understand that Canada has a lot of strength and a lot of leverage, and we’re going to have to use some of it.”