Issue #991 The Choice, Thursday, February 12, 2026
You may have heard that Trump is suddenly determined to block the opening of a bridge that has now been completed between the US and Canada. The Gordie Howe Bridge, as it is named, has long been anticipated because, once it opens, it will greatly reduce the staggering amount of traffic currently shouldered by the Ambassador Bridge, located a few miles further up the Detroit River. Currently, the Ambassador Bridge is the busiest international border crossing in North America by trade volume. It serves as a critical economic link, handling over 25% of all merchandise trade between the U.S. and Canada, with goods valued at approximately $323 million crossing daily.
That bridge, the Ambassador Bridge, is privately owned by local billionaire Matthew Maroun and his family, who, like his late father, Manuel “Matty” Maroun, who purchased the bridge in 1979, never met a dollar bill they didn’t try to make their own. As you might imagine, ownership of that Ambassador Bridge streams a considerable amount of dollar bills into the Maroun bank account. Day after day, week after week, month after month, and year after year. It’s nice when you can own a bridge. Even nicer when that bridge handles 25% of all trade between the U.S. and Canada.
“Canada and the state of Michigan are 50/50 owners of the new bridge,” Snyder wrote. “Canada was wonderful and financed the entire bridge. They will get repaid with interest from the tolls. Michigan and the United States got their half-ownership with no investment.”
Snyder also stressed that parts of the bridge construction were exempt from “Buy America” requirements for its steel because half of the project was outside the U.S., which means that U.S. law should not apply to them.
Matthew Maroun is also a Trump supporter. And I mean a really big Trump supporter. According to reporting by the Detroit Metro Times, “Moroun has donated more than $605,000 to President Trump’s campaign and Trump Victory, a joint fundraising committee supporting Trump and the Republican Party. These contributions span several years (since at least 2019).”
So just pause for a moment or two before reading any further and see if you can imagine why Trump suddenly feels compelled to shut down this bridge. Clue: it has nothing to do with his rants and raves about all that Canada has not done for us, all the U.S has done for Canada, etc. Not a damned thing.
From Crain’s Detroit Business:
“The Moroun family has seemingly tried everything over the years to block the new U.S.-Canada bridge, from a raft of lawsuits and lobbying campaigns to bankrolling a ballot proposal and wielding its real estate as a barrier.
“Add to that list a conversation the Ambassador Bridge owner reportedly had with a Cabinet secretary on Monday, followed by a post by President Donald Trump threatening to not allow the Gordie Howe International Bridge to open. Many have interpreted that as a last-ditch effort to delay the nearly complete bridge.”
When you can afford to pay Trump more than $600,000, Trump will happily blow up bridges for you – or at least do his best. He’s like a foul-smelling coin-operated genie; pay the toll, get your wish.
Can the country fully recover from another year of this perverted version of business-as-usual? For three more years?
