WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Tuesday softened his rhetoric toward Canada on trade and tariffs while issuing a warning for some federal employees.

Appearing alongside Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at the White House, Trump, who has long accused America’s northern neighbor of “ripping off” the United States, now said the longtime allies have merely been “competing for the same business. He wants to make cars, we want to make cars.”

Carney later agreed, telling reporters there were “more areas where we are stronger together, and that’s what we’re focused on,” adding, “And we’re going to get the right deal — the right deal for America ... and obviously, from my perspective, for Canada.”

Trump opened his remarks by acknowledging the neighbors have some “natural conflict,” but he predicted, “We will probably work that out.” Carney and Trump joked about what the latter called the “merger” of the two countries, with the Canadian leader quickly quipping, “That wasn’t where I was going.” They laughed together.

Whether Trump was quietly talking to Senate Democrats was among Washington’s biggest mysteries as the third shutdown under his watch entered its second workweek. The same could be said about just where the mercantilist American president wants to take Washington’s trade relations with Canada.

Carney arrived as the head of America’s second-largest trading partner — and also the country most affected by Trump’s tariffs. Trump had told reporters Monday that Carney was keen for the Tuesday huddle to discuss how he might secure some relief from those import fees. Notably, the Canadian leader, like others before him, tried some flattery as he dubbed Trump a “transformative president.”

Although the Trump-Carney relationship appeared to get off to a warm start after Carney assumed his office in March, tensions have since developed on a number of issues. That includes Israel’s military operation in Gaza that has killed more than 60,000 Palestinians and Ottawa’s recognition of a Palestinian state, which Trump opposes.

Here are three takeaways from Tuesday’s high-stakes session between the two North American leaders:

Federal back pay

After saying little about the ongoing partial government shutdown for several days, Trump on Monday injected for the first time his reality television-like style into the federal funding lapse. He said he would be open to talks about a compromise on enhanced health insurance subsidies that are set to expire at year’s end.

But he placed caveats on such talks that Democratic senators later told reporters are yet to begin. That continued Tuesday, when he framed the government shutdown as a “Kamikaze attack” by Democratic lawmakers.

After a White House official confirmed the existence of an Office of Management and Budget memo pushing a legal argument that furloughed federal workers might not be subject to back pay, a reporter pressed Trump on his stance as he sat alongside Carney in the Oval Office.

“I would say it depends on who we’re talking about,” he said. “I can tell you this: The Democrats have put a lot of people in great risk and jeopardy. But it really depends on who you’re talking about. But for the most part, we’re going to take care of our people.”

Trump then appeared to deliver a potentially ominous warning for some federal workers.

“There are some people that really don’t deserve to be taken care of,” he said, “and we’ll take care of them in a different way.”

Asked about existing laws that appear to guarantee shutdown-affected federal workers receive back wages, Trump further muddied the waters on the issue: “I follow the law, and what the law says is correct, and I follow the law.”

‘Democrat delays’

The Republican president attempted to pin mounting airport delays spawned by the federal shutdown on congressional Democrats.

“They’re all Democrat delays. ... Every day we put forth a bill, just a (continuing resolution). It’s a very simple thing to sign and very simple to do,” Trump said, adding of the minority-party lawmakers, “And I really think that these are people that I think they have nothing to lose. They have a party that’s out of control. They have no leader.”

He zeroed in on Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, two New Yorkers who are frequent targets of his verbal and social media blasts.

“I look at AOC talking about how, if they want to negotiate, they can come to my office. She’s not in that position to do that. And who the hell is she to say that?” Trump said. “I think Schumer is incapable of making a deal. They are a mess. They’re a party that has no leadership.”

Trump even suggested he wasn’t sure whom to contact about negotiations to possibly end the shutdown.

“I just don’t know if Schumer has any power anymore. I look at your leadership, I don’t know who to speak to. I’ll tell you what, I’m getting calls from Democrats wanting to meet — I never even heard their names before,” he said. “The Democrats have no leader.”

‘King of being screwed’

Analysts at the Brookings Institution recently raised several key questions about Trump’s intentions for the U.S.-Canada trade arrangement.

“Does Trump see Canada and Mexico as partners in U.S. geopolitical competition with China in building more competitive industry and in generating jobs?” the analysts asked in a recent online briefing. “Or is Trump heading toward a more go-it-alone approach to international trade, no matter the costs?”

Tuesday’s public session between the two leaders offered few concrete answers.

“We’ve always had tariffs between the two of us. And actually, Canada was charging us very high tariffs on our agricultural things, a lot [on] our agricultural products, and that’s one of the things that we talked about bringing that down,” Trump told reporters.

“So this is a mutual thing,” he added. “Look, we’re the king of being screwed by tariffs, just so you understand. And I’m not talking about with Canada. I’m talking about with countries all over the world.”

Notably, Trump said he could be open to lessening the tariffs he has placed on Canadian steel.

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