U.S. Republican urged to divest from Canada
The tragedy on the Rainbow Bridge was the occasion for a bizarre political statement.
On November 22, a car exploded at the U.S.-Canada border. As a result, two people in the car were killed. On November 24, their identities were officially established, and what happened to them is still widely discussed in the U.S. and Canadian media.
Who the victims were
The Bentley that exploded was being driven by a married couple, Kurt P. and Monica Villani of Grand Island, New York. Both were 53 years old at the time of their deaths. The couple owned Gui's Lumber. Which of them was driving is not being reported. We wrote more about the causes of the accident here.
What's being said about it in the States
Initially, the tragedy was labeled in the media as a terrorist attack, but rather quickly the FBI in cooperation with the Ontario police reported that no traces of explosives were found at the scene and the incident turned out to be a traffic accident.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul said already Wednesday evening after the tragedy that "there is no sign of terrorist activity in this crash." However, it is not yet possible to name the exact cause of the accident, as the car was almost completely burned.
Nevertheless, some media continued to talk about the terrorist attack. For example, Vivek Ramaswamy, an American businessman running for the Republican Party's presidential nomination, commented on the explosion on the Rainbow Bridge on Fox News. Even after the FBI publicly dismissed the terrorist attack, he spoke of the dangerous situation at the border:
"I have been sounding the alarm bell about the northern border for a long time," Ramaswamy said and recalled one of his policy agenda items — building a wall on the U.S.-Canada border.
Discussion in Canada
Conservatives in Canada have also had time to express heightened concern about the terrorist threat. On November 22, at a meeting of the House of Commons, party leader Pierre Poilievre asked the prime minister about planned security measures. In response, Trudeau reservedly suggested waiting for the results of the investigation into the incident.
