BURNING BRIDGES

Murdoch Paper Tears Into Trump’s ‘Cronyism’ Over Billionaire’s Bridge Plea

Donald Trump recently threatened to block the opening of the nearly completed and important bridge.

President Donald Trump’s public threat to block the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge has drawn sharp criticism from a newspaper owned by Rupert Murdoch.

It comes after Trump recently threatened to block the opening of the nearly completed Gordie Howe International Bridge, a major $4.7 billion project linking Detroit, Michigan, and Windsor, Ontario, that is intended to ease congestion and boost trade between the two countries.

Trump has said he will not allow the bridge to open unless Canada provides compensation and concessions, arguing that the structure was built with too little U.S. content and that the United States should be “fully compensated” and possibly gain a larger ownership stake.

Canada’s government, while acknowledging the bridge was largely financed by Ottawa, notes that ownership is shared between the state of Michigan and Canada and that both U.S. and Canadian materials and workers were used in its construction.

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“Obviously, there’s Canadian steel and Canadian workers, but also U.S. steel, U.S. workers that were involved,” Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney told reporters.

In an editorial published on Wednesday, The Wall Street Journal slammed Trump for his sudden intervention in the nearly completed Gordie Howe International Bridge, calling it “bad for business, shoddy treatment of an ally, and bad politics too.”

The Journal accused Trump of “cronyism” after Trump intervened in the cross-border infrastructure project shortly after a meeting between Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and a billionaire owner of a competing bridge, arguing the president’s actions appeared to favor private interests over public benefit.

“Then came news that shortly before Mr. Trump’s social post, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick had met Matthew Moroun, whose billionaire family runs the privately owned Ambassador Bridge. Will it shock readers to learn Mr. Moroun isn’t a fan of the competing Gordie Howe project? The Journal reports, citing an anonymous official, that Mr. Lutnick came away skeptical of the new bridge, and he “made that clear” to Mr. Trump,” the editorial read.

“The intervention is another illustration of the Administration’s governance by cronyism,” it added.

The editorial also warned that the controversy is a “political gift to Democrats,” ahead of the 2026 midterms, particularly in Michigan, where voters will choose a new governor and an open Senate seat.

It argued that Trump’s “crony bridgegate won’t help” GOP candidates, and that Democrats will campaign on stopping him from “arbitrarily closing international crossings on a random Monday for no good reason.”

The Journal added that if Democrats retake the House, the administration’s final two years could be overshadowed by congressional oversight, as “it’ll be hard to see the sun through flying subpoenas.”

It comes as polls show voters leaning toward the Democrats ahead of the midterms.

The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.

The Gordie Howe International Bridge was greenlit in 2014 after years of bipartisan backing on both sides of the border and has always been framed as a joint infrastructure project.

Trump’s recent attacks on the bridge mark a sharp reversal from his earlier stance. In 2017, during his first term, he publicly endorsed the project in a joint statement with then–Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, calling it “a vital economic link between our two countries” and expressing enthusiasm for its “expeditious completion.”

Now, Trump is seeking to distance himself from the bridge, blaming former President Barack Obama for its approval and alleging that Canada exploited the agreement to skirt U.S. manufacturing requirements.

The escalation occurs against the backdrop of Trump’s broader preoccupation with Canada in his second term, including proposals to annex the country and tariffs on Canadian steel, aluminum, and automobiles.

The dispute has intensified trade tensions, prompting Canadian retaliation. Ontario recently removed U.S. spirits and wines from government liquor stores—a move Trump directly criticized in his social media post about the bridge: “Ontario won’t even put U.S. spirits, beverages, and other alcoholic products on their shelves,” he wrote.

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