WHAT TRUDEAU SHOULD MENTION — AND NOT MENTION — TO TRUMP
MENTION The virtues of abandoning campaign pledges.
Trudeau meets Trump just after abandoning his campaign promise to overhaul Canada’s voting system. And if history is any guide, neartotal abandonment of campaign pledges has never really been a barrier to getting Liberals re-elected. Thus, Trudeau is in a unique position to hint to Trump that he may not necessarily need to deliver on absolutely every little thing he spouted off during the election.
Our mighty and growing armed forces
There’s no getting around this: Canada hasn’t met its NATO commitments f or years, and we are categorically dependent on the Americans to defend our borders. But on the plus side, Defense Secretary James Mattis seems to love Canadian troops, we just bought a bunch of new equipment and our special forces are second to none. With luck, maybe Trump won’t nag us for having a navy held together with duct tape.
Donald J. Trump’s peerless, unmatched leadership of the United States of America
Sucking up to the Americans has served Canada well, so why stop now, when the White House suddenly has one of the most praise-hungry occupants in its history? History will not know what Trudeau says to Trump behind closed doors: There are likely no transcripts kept of these meetings, and it’s extremely unlikely that any of Trump’s aides will even remember Trudeau’s name when they write their memoirs.
Oil. Remember to mention the oil.
Despite all the “America First” talk, the U. S. still imports oceans of its oil from Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Venezuela and Nigeria. After thanking Trump for approv- ing Keystone XL, it doesn’t hurt to mention that our oil is top quality, reliably delivered and we won’t pull any Saudi-like predatory pricing schemes.
Trump’s Canadian holdings
The word from Trump watchers is that the president seems to be unusually favourable to countries where he has real estate holdings. So, it can’t hurt to remind him that Canada is the only non-U.S. country aside from India where Trump’s name adorns more than one building ( Vancouver and Toronto have a Trump International Tower and Hotel).
DO NOT MENTION The word “NAFTA”
Trade is obviously going to be a big focus of this first meeting. And Canada has some leverage: We’re still the Americans’ biggest customer, and there’s no shortage of voices in U. S. industry warning that toying with the Canadian trade relationship could cost U. S. jobs. But Trump has still spent months calling NAFTA the “worst deal ever.” Much like with the word “Obamacare” (parts of which Trump has pledged to keep), Trump might be more likely to be swayed the less he hears any mention of “NAFTA.”
Human rights, inclusiveness, morality, etc.
Remember all those times Canada tried to ask China to stop oppressing its citizens? Or when we kept telling U. S. presidents that their Vietnam War was a bad idea? Not only did it not work, but it ultimately just annoyed both parties. While there are millions of Canadians who probably want to see Trudeau lecture Trump about non- reactionary immigration policies or some such, there is an approximately zero- per- cent chance that it will result in the U. S. president changing his mind.