My column on page 6 of the Nov. 30 edition of the Daily Herald contents may provide readers with the background necessary to help reinforce the uncertainty and concern we should be feeling as we head into Trump 2.0 and another four years of paying too much attention to this man’s every utterance.
It may sicken me knowing that in late January this felon will once more become President; however, why is it that so many Canadians think this is “no big deal?” Just because we managed to survive 2016 through 2020 doesn’t mean that we can “cope”; take a look at what this clown did to our political landscape by ignoring the spread of Covid-19, calling it a “flu”, then letting over a million Americans die – a lot of them from having caught the “flu” at one of his way-too-large political rallies – only to finally capitulate by injecting research funding into finding a preventative vaccine option AFTER he caught this “flu” himself.
Following his humiliating defeat at the hands of Joe Biden in 2020, Trump has somehow managed to continue sucking the oxygen out of the air by claiming that the results of that presidential campaign were “rigged”, and with that nonsense wringing in everyone’s ears for the past four years, we now have a world in which our formerly trusted media sources find it necessary to take whatever insanities he can lie about into some form of “truth”, only to find themselves being critiqued as “biased” or “agents of the deep state” (whatever that is) by MAGA flunkies and given credit by the talking heads of FOX News.
Our greatest concern at the moment is this: we have a generation – Millennials – who don’t understand the concept of a “freedom” or “right” because no one’s ever dropped a bomb on their heads, and subsequently believe that mandates designed to keep you “safe” are personal attacks and an “overreach” by government. Add to this parents with young children who now believe vaccines that vanquished world plagues (polio, measles, smallpox, etc.) are now “dangerous”, as are the new tools utilized in investigating the human condition and seeking cures for our ailments (e.g.: m-RNA gene interpretation).
Trump’s agenda isn’t even original. He’s already tricked us into renegotiating the NAFTA agreement to better benefit U.S. trade interests, so why are our premiers in such a panic mode regarding the prospect of 25 per cent being added to the cost of goods that Canada wants to sell to the U.S.? Poor Doug Ford, worrying about the possibility of a federal election coming down the pipe and Pierre Poilievre ending up as our next PM before he obtains a new lease on political life by dropping a writ now – poor Canada being judged on the same scale as “Mexico” (boo hoo) – and him with all those bicycle lanes in The Big Smoke still to pave, and over half of the agricultural land on the Niagara peninsula yet to be covered with concrete.
Ford has all of the minerals necessary for the so-called “green revolution” to continue, so what is his problem, save the possibility that Trump may send the Proud Boys or more phony militia types as crossed over to Canada at Coutts, Alta.? Then there’s Danielle Smith, whose defense of Alberta’s role in providing the U.S. with 30 per cent of its petroleum imports pretty much assures that Canada must be at least an “equal” trading partner in whatever new “bilateral agreement” Trump might wish to concoct with the feds. Makes me wonder whether she read anything of interest while The Donald was president the first time around, because even back then he was INCLUDING Canada’s oil contributions into his U.S. supply inventory. And PLEASE – don’t get me started on Premier Moe; the only kind of “driving” lesson Trump needs is if it improves his golf game.
The premiers who held their breath for a moment after Trump made his call on tariffs were absolutely right in calling for Canada’s leaders to take a firm AND “united” stand together. The PM, it seemed, agreed with that idea after they all met in secret on Dec. 1, but why did he then fly down to Florida with a couple of Liberal “heavies” to discuss the matter, as opposed to, say, including Pierre Poilievre and Jagmeet Singh, and maybe even Doug and Danielle?
Does anyone seriously believe that Canadians are going to buy the spin on this story that Trudeau was just vigorously “trying to get on top of this matter” by confronting Trump in his own bailiwick over a hamburger (OK – it was meatloaf; what’s the difference?)? No; it’s nearing Christmas -making his list, checking it twice -and the polls are still naughty ‘stead of trending “nice”…
The worst thing about that trip, however, is that now it has Trump “joking” that Canada would make a pretty good “51st state – and now, on the world’s favourite newspaper, “social media” we have some MAGA jokester posting a meme of Trump standing atop one of the Rocky Mountains, Canadian flag nearby, surveying his next “conquest”?
Trudeau went south to kiss the ring; it’s that simple. It didn’t work. Poilievre is now ranting in familiar fashion that Trudeau has now “sold Canadians out”, but STILL hasn’t stated what he would do differently to confront what potentially could become the most destructive economic crossroad we’re entering since the Depression?
The only politician willing to give the Winston Churchill route a try rather than the Neville Chamberlain Byway is, ironically, Jagmeet Singh, not Poilievre. That must really hurt…