Ex-GOP operative appalled as Trump builds 'barrier of corruption' for donor's payout

A former Republican operative flagged how badly President Donald Trump damaged a relationship with a close U.S. ally to help a donor.

Steve Schmidt focused on Canada for his Wednesday episode of The Warning to mark July 1, which is Canada Day. He talked in particular about the Gordie Howe International Bridge connecting Windsor, Ontario, with Detroit.

"Look at this bridge. It's brand new, paid for by Canada, though the American side gets to keep half the revenue," Schmidt explained. "It is a vital pipeline, an artery for commerce that flows back and forth, a trillion dollars a year."

The bridge also "sustains jobs" and "creates opportunity across both sides of the border," Schmidt continued. However, Schmidt was only talking about the bridge's potential because Trump "will now not allow the Gordie Howe Bridge to open," he said.

Schmidt noted that Matthew T. Moroun, a Detroit billionaire, owns the nearby Ambassador Bridge. He claimed that Moroun "donated $1 million to Donald Trump," and blamed that connection for the reason the Gordie Howe Bridge has yet to open.

"The Ambassador Bridge is jam-packed. It's a toll bridge," Schmidt explained. "When the new bridge opens, it will diminish the traffic and decrease the profit for the ownership group on the [Ambassador] bridge."

Schmidt blasted the refusal by Trump to open the bridge, and noted the soured relationship between the U.S. and Canada is even "killing the bourbon industry."

He said, "The next president has an absolute moral obligation to repair this relationship." He called on Americans to "look north and think this thought: we're sorry," for Canada Day.

"Donald Trump has erected a barrier of corruption as if he's generalissimo of some banana republic, and it's appalling," Schmidt said. "He has vandalized a relationship that is steeped in friendship that goes back beyond the moment of his birth, and it is appalling."