Trump ‘no monster’ Black assures MPs
Tough talk just setting stage for free-trade dealings, businessman tells committee
OTTAWA— Conrad Black, urbane business baron and one-time U.S. prison inmate, says the billionaire in the White House is not a “monster,” and that his recent blustering on trade with Canada might be nothing more than “atmospherics” to set the stage for upcoming negotiations.
The former publisher and author made the comments Thursday when he appeared by video from Toronto at a parliamentary committee discussing Canada’s foreign policy with the United States.
Black told the gathering of politicians that, speaking from his own personal dealings with Donald Trump, the seemingly erratic U.S. president is actually quite consistent in the positions he ultimately takes.
“My impression of him is he doesn’t change his views as much as one thinks, but he does alter the mood and the level of ambience,” Black said in response to a question from Liberal MP John McKay about Trump’s unpredictability.
Black said he dealt with Trump on the construction of a building for one of his newspapers in Chicago.
He said the Manhattan real estate mogul engaged in “tactical manoeuvring” by taking “outrageous positions” with certain contractors and the local builders’ union. But in the end, the building came in on budget with a “widely admired” design and “top-grade tenants,” Black said.
“He has his techniques, but he’s not all over the map. He knows what he wants.”
The Canadian government has emphasized the management of its relationship with the American administration since Trump was elected in November.
The unconventional U.S. president has been a constant subject of discussion on Parliament Hill, whether it’s in relation to his possible impact on the increased numbers of asylum claimants walking into Canada, or unease about his promised “tweaking” to the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Trump recently cranked up his anti-Canadian rhetoric, slamming the supply management system that protects the Canadian dairy industry. The U.S. also slapped 20-per-cent tariffs on softwood lumber imports from Canada, a move the Liberal government has vowed to fight while acknowledging it will lead to “inevitable” job losses.
Black, the former head of a massive media empire who was jailed in the U.S. for more than two years on fraud and obstruction of justice convictions, has been a prominent admirer of Trump, whom he has called an “old friend.”
Four months before he won the election, for instance, Black took to the National Post to proclaim the “genius” of Trump’s campaign.
On Thursday, he told the parliamentary committee on foreign affairs that, while changes to the trade agreement and American tax structure are “serious” for Canada, fears of Trump’s anger toward his northern neighbour may be overblown.
“He has never expressed to me the slightest grievance with Canada,” other than its failure to spend 2 per cent of GDP on the military, which is a Trump demand for NATO member countries, Black said.
At the same time, he said that Trump’s promises to put “America First” are an understandable push to address the “importation of unemployment” into the U.S. because of trade deals that have led businesses to use labour forces in countries where costs are lower.
“We’re not dealing with a monster here. We’re dealing with a reasonable person,” Black said.
He predicted that the “war” on Trump’s legitimacy and competency as president, which he linked to how he campaigned against the entire U.S. political and media establishment (from Hollywood and Wall St. to the Bush and Obama families, Black said), will eventually calm down.
He also claimed that allegations of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, which are under investigation in the U.S., are “absolute bunk” and will come down on the heads of the president’s opposition “like a toilet seat.”
Black concluded his appearance at the committee by apologizing for being late. For that, he blamed “John Tory’s traffic miracle” in Toronto.