WASHINGTON (AP) — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday warned Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney that his recent public comments against U.S. trade policy could backfire going into the formal review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the trade deal that protects Canada from the heaviest impacts of President Donald Trump's tariffs.
Carney used a high-profile speech last week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland to condemn economic coercion by great powers on smaller countries and since then he has as since sparred with Trump and Bessent about related trade issues. Trump on Saturday threatened to impose a 100% tariff on goods imported from Canada over a trade deal Carney is pursuing with Beijing.
“I would not pick a fight going into USMCA to score some cheap political points -- either you’re working for your own political career or you’re working for the Canadian people," Bessent said during a CNBC interview.
“I’ve seen what happens when a technocrat tries to pivot and become a politician.” Bessent added, in a reference to Carney's background as a central banker. “It never really works out well.”
Trump and Carney spoke on Monday, after which Bessent told Fox News that the prime minister “was very aggressively walking back some of the unfortunate remarks he made at Davos.”
Carney had a different characterization the next day.
“To be absolutely clear, and I said this to the president, I meant what I said in Davos,” Carney told reporters.
The North American trade agreement signed in 2020 during Trump's first term, but lately the Republican president has expressed indifference to it. Earlier this month, he said, "I don’t really care about it.”
Bessent, in his CNBC appearance, did say that in the end, “I think we will end up in a good place — may not be a straight line.”
FILE - Canada Prime Minister Mark Carney delivers a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP, File)
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks at the USA house during the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — President Donald Trump seemed to signal a willingness to ease tensions in Minneapolis after a second deadly shooting by federal immigration agents, but there was little evidence Wednesday of any significant changes following weeks of harsh rhetoric and clashes with protesters.
The strain was evident when Trump made a leadership change by sending his top border adviser to Minnesota to take charge of the immigration crackdown. That was followed by seemingly conciliatory remarks about the Democratic governor and mayor.
Trump said he and Gov. Tim Walz, whom he criticized for weeks, were on “a similar wavelength” following a phone call. After a conversation with Mayor Jacob Frey, the president praised the discussion and declared that “lots of progress is being made.”
But on city streets, there were few signs of a shift. Immigration enforcement operations and confrontations with activists continued Wednesday in Minneapolis and St. Paul.
A group of protesters blew whistles and pointed out federal officers in a vehicle on a north Minneapolis street. When the officers’ vehicle moved, a small convoy of activists followed in their cars for a few blocks until the officers stopped again.
Associated Press journalists were in the neighborhood covering the enforcement actions. When the journalists got out of their car to document the encounter, officers with the federal Bureau of Prisons pushed one of them, threatened them with arrest and told them to get back in their car despite the reporters' identifying themselves as media.
Officers from multiple federal agencies have been involved in the enforcement operations. From their car, the AP journalists saw at least one person being pepper sprayed and one detained, though it was unclear if that person was the target of the operation or a protester. Agents also broke car windows.
Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is visiting Minnesota, said 16 people were arrested Wednesday on charges of assaulting, resisting or impeding law enforcement in the state. She said more arrests were expected.
“NOTHING will stop President Trump and this Department of Justice from enforcing the law," Bondi said in a social media post.
Messages seeking comment were left with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol.
Many immigrant families are still fearful of leaving their homes, and Latino businesses are still closed, according to Daniel Hernandez, who owns the Minneapolis grocery store Colonial Market. He also runs a popular Facebook page geared toward informing the Hispanic community in the Twin Cities.
While Colonial Market is open, all but one of the dozen immigrant-run businesses that rented space inside to sell clothes, jewelry and toys have closed since late December, and none has plans to reopen, Hernandez said.
“The reality is the community is still very worried and afraid,” Hernandez said.
Hernandez referenced Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino, who helped lead the administration's crackdown in the Twin Cities and who has reportedly been assigned elsewhere.
Bovino "was removed, but the tactics so far are still the same," Hernandez said. “Nobody now is trusting the government with those changes.”
The federal enforcement extended to the city’s Ecuadorian consulate, where a federal law enforcement officer tried to enter before being blocked by employees.
Meanwhile, Trump said in a social media post that the mayor was “PLAYING WITH FIRE” by not participating in the enforcement efforts.
Elsewhere on Wednesday, Donnie McMillan placed a cardboard sign reading “In remembrance of my angel” at the makeshift memorial where Alex Pretti was shot.
The Vietnam veteran, 71, kneeled to pay his respects and saluted to honor the nurse whom he said he remembered seeing during his frequent visits to the Veterans Affairs hospital where Pretti worked.
“I feel like I’ve lost an angel right here,” the disabled veteran said, pointing to the growing sidewalk memorial covered in flowers, candles and signs.
“This is not the way we should operate,” added McMillan, who said he served in Vietnam and then in the military police for more than a decade. “I respect everybody, but I respect my angel more, and now he’s no longer with us.”
In other developments, a man confronted Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar during a town hall meeting and squirted her with a strong-smelling substance as she denounced the administration. He was tackled and identified by police as 55-year-old Anthony Kazmierczak, a convicted felon who had made online posts supportive of Trump.
Minnesota court records show Kazmierczak was convicted of auto theft in 1989 and has multiple arrests for driving under the influence, along with a slew of traffic offenses. It was not immediately clear if he had an attorney.
In social media posts, Kazmierczak described himself a former network engineer who lives in Minneapolis and had made comments critical of former President Joe Biden, referring to Democrats as “angry and liars.”
Omar continued speaking for about 25 minutes after the man was ushered out by security, saying she would not be intimidated. After the event, she said she was unharmed.
The administration was also being challenged in court. Federal courts were weighing a decision on a lawsuit seeking to pause the crackdown, as well as an order for the head of ICE to appear personally to address what a judge said were failures to grant due process for certain immigrants.
Associated Press writers Mike Catalini in Trenton, New Jersey, and Michael Biesecker in Washington contributed to this report.
This story has been corrected to show that agency's name is Veterans Affairs, not Veterans Administration.
The Ecuadorian consulate stands in Minneapolis, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Jack Brook)
Vietnam war veteran Donnie McMillan places a sign that says "In remembrance of my angel" at a memorial set up at the location where Veterans Affairs nurse Alex Pretti was shot by U.S. federal agents, in Minneapolis, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Jack Brook)
A person is attended to after federal officers used a chemical irritant on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
A person walks past a memorial honoring Alex Pretti outside the Minneapolis VA hospital on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, in Minneapolis. (Kerem Yücel/Minnesota Public Radio via AP)
A federal officer approaches observers and journalists on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
ADDS MORE INFORMATION Federal Bureau of Prisons officers threaten AP video journalist Mark Vancleave with arrest on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Federal agents knock on a door of a residence on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, in Blaine, Minn. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
