Six things to know about Trudeau on the cover of the Rolling Stone
An online version of a Rolling Stone magazine cover story featuring Justin Trudeau was widely mocked Wednesday for its fawning coverage — “Is he the free world’s best hope?” and headline “Why Can’t He Be Our President?” Here’s six things you need to know.
1 Backlash
The backlash came swiftly for the writer Stephen Rodrick. Much of the social media commentary focused on the laudatory tone of the 6,500word Rolling Stone article. “I didn’t even know they had Twitter in Canada!” Rodrick mused in a late-morning tweet, later adding, “Man, don’t tell all these angry Canadians that I’m moving to Vancouver in January!”
2 Liberty Party?
According to Rolling Stone, Trudeau is head of the Liberty Party. “Trudeau won in an upset in 2008, made all the more significant because his Liberty Party took another national thrashing.” It is, of course, the Liberal Party.
3 Don’t tell the Mounties
In the article, Trudeau apparently pointed to his “Royal Canadian Mountain Police detail.” A cursory Google search turns up a “Mountain Police” station in Hamilton, Ont., but they’re not responsible for prime ministerial security.
4 Top of scale
How gushing was the piece? “He speaks in a modulated, indoor voice. His dark hair is a color found in nature. At home, there is a glamorous wife and three photogenic children.” And then there was, “For Trudeau, listening is seducing.” On a scale of gushing, this piece was a 10.
Brat behaviour
But there was a little criticism: “Trudeau’s tenure has sometimes been like watching a kindergartner ride a bicycle by himself for the first time: so much promise, so many wipeouts. He still can act like a brat on occasion. Last year, he barrelled through the House of Commons in an effort to stop the stalling tactics of his opponents, and his elbow grazed the breast of MP Ruth Ellen Brosseau. This became known as Elbowgate. His opponents jumped on Trudeau, morphing impatience into a charge of abuse. In turn, Trudeau apologized four times, making him the butt of John Oliver jokes.”
6 Don’t forget the socks
Trudeau’s socks get mentioned twice — once they were “festooned with moose” and on another occasion they were “marking the end of Ramadan,” although we are not told how.