A famous Canadian once wrote, 'There is unrest in the forest. There is trouble with the trees. For the Maples want more sunlight, and the Oaks ignore their pleas.''
At first glance, Neil Peart's lyrics in Rush's classic prog rock song 'The Trees' metaphorically represent the futility of conflict. In the end, everyone loses.
'Now there's no more Oak oppression. For they passed a nobel law, and the trees are all kept equal by hatchet, axe, and saw.'
It has been suggested that Neil's lyrics may have a deeper meaning. Canada is trying desperately to break free from the shadow of her southern superpower cousin. Maples are the national tree of Canada, while the mighty oak is the National tree of the United States. Peart took his secret to his grave, never confirming the true meaning of the song. When asked, he only replied that the image just popped into his head.
The song representing the relationship between the US and Canada may be pure fan fiction, but there is trouble with the trees between the two countries, and there is nothing metaphoric about it.
The decades-old issue is imported lumber from Canada, specifically softwood lumber, which historically has about a 24 percent market share in the US. Cheaper Canadian lumber, along with excessive regulations, has put crushing pressure on the US lumber industry for years, costing the industry both jobs and profits.
The Trump Administration has been working on strengthening the US lumber industry by both deregulation and tariffs. He has also opened some federal land to logging.
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BREAKING: Trump will be signing an executive order freeing up some of America's forests to be used for lumber in order to divest from Canadian lumber. pic.twitter.com/1bfoCGdO6n
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) March 6, 2025
Essex Files: Timber!!! Trump Lets Lumber Companies Use National Forest for Lumberinghttps://t.co/fN4oc1TYEp
— RedState (@RedState) April 6, 2025
Chris Matthews just hasn't been able to wrap his dizzying intellect around the idea that the United States could 'make' its own wood without the help of Canada. He made the embarrassingly moronic rant during an appearance on MSNBC's Morning Joe.
Watch:
Chris Matthews on MSNBC:
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) April 9, 2025
"We get so much of our lumber, our two by fours from from Canada....What are we going to do? Have more lumber made in the United States now?!"
"What is our plan now...? We're going to create more wood. Is that it?!"
"Are we going to make more wood in… pic.twitter.com/cVlvJ6SvEu
The entire post:
Chris Matthews on MSNBC: "We get so much of our lumber, our two by fours from from Canada....What are we going to do? Have more lumber made in the United States now?!""What is our plan now...? We're going to create more wood. Is that it?!""Are we going to make more wood in this country because of our trade deal?! I don't think so!"
Create wood? Make more wood? It's not like the stuff just grows on trees! Matthews comes up with some off-the-wall doozies on occasion, but this is AOC dumb.
But then again...
I kinda remember this guy…he was at the forefront of the tampon fight. Probably inspired Walz 🤷🏾♂️ pic.twitter.com/UqvSLwmqtj
— Shaughn_A (@Shaughn_A2) April 9, 2025
Still, he has to know where wood comes from, right?
Right?
Trees!
— Mars Knight (@Nobodybutme17) April 9, 2025
We discovered trees in the USA!
Somebody tell Chrissy Matthews! pic.twitter.com/ae4xm9atdG
YES! If we get rid of many of the regulations that have hindered our lumber production in this country, we WILL make more wood products in the USA.
— Don'tBeAJagoff (@Eponine1973) April 9, 2025
Libs dont know where wood comes from https://t.co/mjKgZ690IY
— Jack Poso 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) April 9, 2025
Chris Mathews is an idiot pic.twitter.com/7cn86ZATya
— 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗠𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮 (@txsalth2o) April 9, 2025
Excess supply? Huh?
To paraphrase the immortal Foghorn Leghorn. Chris Matthews is about as sharp as a bowling ball and almost as bright. If the US 'Making' its own wood has him baffled, just wait until he finds out about maple syrup.
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