Trudeau’s turn in the doghouse
Prime Minster, in Trump’s crosshairs, must resist temptation to rise to the bait
Häagen-Dazs and honours for a ruthless dictator. A special place in hell and threats for a trusted, steady ally.
For Donald Trump, the world is his stage. Justin Trudeau has his role in this global theatre as does Kim Jong Un.
It appeared Tuesday morning that the U.S. president was flipping the world order, but it will almost inevitably flip back and eventually find its natural order.
While Trump flattered Kim after their historic summit and again fired away at Trudeau — this time threatening Canadians with financial pain because of a perceived slight from the prime minister — it is worth remembering that it was barely eight months ago that Trump was threatening Kim with “fire and fury like the world has never seen” and mocking him as “little Rocket Man.’’
Studying recent Trump history, it’s a pretty good bet that something will go wrong with Kim going forward and we will be hearing more threats, and it is a sure bet that Canada-U.S. relations will eventually right themselves despite the efforts of the U.S. president.
But for a day, it was Alice Through the Looking Glass.
Trump accused Trudeau of trying to sneak through a post-G7 press conference that he couldn’t see because he was on a plane, as if the prime minister was only going to stand up for Canadian workers if Trump’s cable was out.
“I think that Justin probably didn’t know that Air Force One has about 20 televisions,” Trump said after the Singapore summit.
He was apparently outraged that Trudeau said he would not be pushed around by the U.S. after what Trump thought was a hearty handshake and a friendly, early, summit departure.
In this global theatre, Trump had to appear to be tough before his summit with Kim, likely the world’s worst human rights abuser, who Trump described as “very talented,” a man who loves his country and was able to take over and run a country at age 26. Kim in fact inherited the family dictator business.
“I don’t say it was nice or I don’t say anything about it, he ran it — very few people at that age, you can take one out of 10,000 probably couldn’t do it,” Trump said.
The United Nations says at least 120,000 North Koreans are enduring brutal conditions in political prisoner camps where hundreds of thousands have died.
Kim has executed those who have not shown him proper respect, including an army general who met his demise from an anti-aircraft gun after falling asleep at a meeting. Canada protects its dairy industry. So Trump has a closer bond with Kim, apparently.
Paul Frazer, a former Canadian ambassador and a Washington-based consultant, says a national cathartic anger can be healthy, but once that is spent, Ottawa has to resist the urge to rise to the bait, pull back and give the U.S. space to pull back.
Canadians need to remember, Frazer said, that Trump is an equal opportunity insulter who has, at times, had British Prime Minister Theresa May, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto in his crosshairs.
This is Trudeau’s turn in Trump’s global reality show.
Domestically, opposition leaders can read the political currents and are wise to rally behind Trudeau.
It is hard to imagine Andrew Scheer or Jagmeet Singh having more luck in dealing with a man who can renege on a commitment in a fit of pique between Quebec and Washington.
But Trudeau is stuck with this task.
The way out appears to be in the U.S. where the Trudeau government can push allies to convince Trump that damage is being done, not only with allies, but at home as well.
Dealing with Trump is like trying to negotiate with a high-speed squash ball careering off the walls and ceiling of the court.
Eventually the ball will come to rest. In the meantime, you have to let it bounce.
Trudeau didn’t ask for this, but it is his time in history to find a way forward with the most frustrating president in U.S. history.
Time will return this relationship to equilibrium but if Trudeau does not find that in time he will, rightly or wrongly, wear this into a federal election campaign.