Exclusive | Lisa McClain predicts El-Sayeds downfall, defends Trumps tariffs on Canada: Not a good trading partner

DALLAS — House Republican Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain defended President Trump’s strong-arm tactics against Canada on trade, arguing that America’s northern neighbor has been ripping off the US.The No.

4 House Republican, who comes from a state that borders Canada, accused Ottawa of helping other countries skirt US tariffs and of hurting American farmers.“Canada is our neighbor.

We don’t want to be in a trade war with Canada, but what we want is fair trade,” McClain (R-Mich.) told The Post when asked about the tariff battle.“We’re at a $60 billion trade deficit,” she explained.

“Since the 1990s, Canada has been putting a 250% tariff on our farmers in terms of dairy and cream.Come on.

What President Trump’s trying to do is level the playing field.”On Tuesday, Canada imposed sweeping retaliatory tariffs on some $20 billion worth of imports from the US after the Trump administration slapped duties on them two weeks ago, after negotiations between the two sides broke down.McClain shrugged off concerns about the brewing trade war impacting critical elections in Michigan, contending that when the dust settles there will be a “fair deal.”She also expressed confidence that Republican Mike Rogers will take down Dr.Abdul El-Sayed in her home state’s critical Senate race.“I am optimistic, and I say that because I know Michiganders,” she explained.

“What Michiganders want is they don’t want a crazy man or woman like El-Sayed.They don’t want someone who believes Temple Israel deserves the attack.”That was a reference to El-Sayed’s response to the March attack on Temple Israel, a Michigan synagogue, earlier this year, in which a madman rammed a vehicle into it, injuring dozens.

Only the perpetrator, Ayman Mohamed Ghazali, died in the terror attack.But while El-Sayed lamented and denounced the attack, he also drew attention to the fact that Ghazali’s family was killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon days earlier, concluding...