InThisStateOfAffairsVille
Sheesh:
Sheesh:
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP), Nov 29th, 4:50pm EST — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has flown to Florida to meet with President-elect Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago club after Trump threatened to impose sweeping tariffs on Canadian products.A person familiar with the matter said Trudeau will have dinner with Trump. The official was not authorized to speak publicly about the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity...
By now there are at least eleventy billion hot takes out there on what Mr. Trump's tariff threats actually mean.
And if any puffed-up pro-media pundit pretends that they know what will happen, their mouth is very likely filled to bursting with mouldy lima beans because no one, including he who originally 'truthed' it, has any idea what the ultimate outcome will be.
But one thing we do know for sure, based purely on past performance....
The US'ian president re-elect loves any and all fawning he receives in the wake of a good punching down against those he perceives to be in a position of weakness.
Which is precisely what he will get tonight, regardless the grade of rubber in the chicken simmering in the Mar-a-Lago kitchen.
Because, just by flying south, Mr. Trudeau has painted white spots all over his back, sans antlers.
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Having said all that, I will offer a take on why Mr. Trump went full metal tariff-a-palooza on Canada and Mexico in the first place.
Which is that it was an exercise in deflector spike spin jamming against a tiger that could really bite in a future trade war.
Put another way...
Who's talking about China now?
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16 comments:
I think this is a premature move by JT, he shouldn’t have gone, not yet anyway, the man isn’t even president yet. JT should let his trade and finance people talk to their people and maybe, Maybe, in spring go for a visit. Drumph loves the attention he gets by scaring people, we shouldn’t give him the satisfaction.
Here’s an excerpt from a Coyne article the other day and a link. I don’t have a subscription but got the excerpt from another poster over at the Tyee…
“ Let’s all take a deep breath, shall we? And after we have, let us agree that there is no practical benefit in attempting to meet Mr. Trump’s demands:
. because it is wrong to appease a bully, for starters;
. because to do so can only invite further demands, and further threats;
. because his “concerns” are not, in fact, “valid” – the amount of fentanyl entering the U.S. from Canada is trivial (U.S. customs agents seized a grand total of 43 pounds of it in the last fiscal year), the number of illegal migrants scarcely less so (U.S. border patrol officers stopped fewer than 24,000 people last year, compared to more than 1.5 million crossing from Mexico);
. because it is each country’s responsibility to control its own borders, that is, to police the entry of people and goods, not to demand that others police their exit;
. because if it were such an “easily solvable” matter as Mr. Trump, in his endless devotion to easy solutions, pretends, it would have been done long ago.
There is not, in short, a great deal we can do to satisfy Mr. Trump, and if there were, we would have no assurance that he would remain satisfied for long. There is no point in negotiating with terrorists.
And, a few paragraphs further on:
What should we do instead?
1. Play for time. Whatever he might imagine, Mr. Trump was elected with the thinnest of mandates. He is, what is more, a lame duck: The clock began ticking on his presidency from the day he was elected, as it is ticking on his mental and physical health. His thirst for dictatorship is real, but is in competition with his emotional instability and sheer incompetence. The longer time goes on, the more mistakes he is likely to make, and the weaker he is likely to become, politically and otherwise.
2. Prey upon his weaknesses. Probe his psyche. Figure out his break points. Do not be afraid to annoy him. Most people do stupid things when they’re angry; multiply by 100 in the case of Mr. Trump. Tempt him to give into his demons; lead him onto the rocks of his own intemperance. His mistakes are your opportunities.
3. Stand together. Work with allies, in Canada – yes, that means getting the Premiers onside, if only to shut them up – in Washington and state capitals, around the world. We are dealing with a dangerous lunatic. That is inescapable, at least for the foreseeable future. As with the Soviet Union, we cannot defeat him. But we can contain him.
4. Stand up straight. Ultimately we can’t control what Mr. Trump does. We can, however, control what we do. Maybe we can’t prevent him from wrecking the North American economy, or whatever else he decides to do to us. But we can at least maintain our dignity, our composure and our self-respect. That’s not the only thing that matters, but it’s something.”
https://disq.us/url?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theglobeandmail.com%2Fopinion%2Farticle-this-is-how-canada-should-deal-with-donald-trump-irrational-actor%2F%3AcHe9aJu_pWCSE4W7gg53GNUZzm0&cuid=2361153
Thanks Graham--
It's not often I agree with Mr. Coyne, but, of course, yes.
Particularly in terms of the actual true, real politick of the thing.
The thing is, Mr. Trudeau isn't playing in the true politics world at the moment either. Instead, he's looking to manufacture an image saving game changer. My prediction is that after a little make nice rope-a-dope at the edges of the ring, Trudeau will come out swinging just like he did against Mr. Brazeau back in his image building days.
The difference this time around?
This time Mr. Trudeau will be punching at air.
But if he can save his image by having the media portray him as 'fighting' for Canada, it will have been worth it for him.
As for the rest of us? I'm not so sure.
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Maybe the trip to Florida was spawned because JT and/or his advisers noticed the fractiousness and near panic emanating from the First Ministers’ conflab. Someone has to demonstrate leadership and a sane head.
As for Coyne: does he not find fault with almost everything JT does? DF
I think the Mango Mussolini has face slapped Canada out of its stupor, especially the Mini-MAGA's such as racist Ontario & Quebec Premier's Ford and Legault. Welcome to the real world of Trump and MAGA, a replay of 1933 Germany.
It was panic in streets with Singh and Pollierve and with the theatre of Question Time in Parliament. Oh yes the Canadian media, ever asleep at the switch.
This 70 year old prole has watched the rise of the MAGA/Trump coup 'detat for over four years and I can say "all is going to Trump's and MAGA's plan".
So Trudeau, to quell the growing panic of Canadian premier's and Canadian elite and their "easy life", went to pay fealty to the Mango Mussolini - or did he.
If one actually looks beyound the current "sky is falling" shtick, Canada has a plan and a very sophisticated plan at that and that is to target companies in Republican/MAGA strongholds with punitive tariffs. Trumps tariff plan will cause great pain to the average American and i think this is what Trumps wants - financial chaos.
The reason: Trump is a grifter, first class and financial chaos means people are easy pickens to be fleeced. so the plan will go ahead and Canada and Mexico will play their part, as they will have to.
I am no fan of Trudeau, but I think both Singh and Pollierve have done more damage to Canada than people think.
As Canada's Prime Minister, the one everyone hates, breaks bread with the the great Mango, probably will let slip a few trifles such as punitive reciprocal tariffs; not buying Boeing fighter jets; restricting Canadian medical for people staying in the USA more and a month; and even a departure tax on cars going south of the boarder for cheap gas and milk.
Welcome to the New World Order.
Two notes:
1)The newly elected UK Labour government and Prime Minister are in great trouble with a specific "farmer's tax". So desperate are labour that there is a certain petition calling for the a new election which has now been made illegal by said labour government.
2) I have heard from pod casts from somewhat conservative types from south of the boarder of a military coup if Trump continues to pick Russian assets to his cabinet.
We are living in interesting times.
A desperate Prime Minister twenty points behind in the polls and hanging onto his leadership by his lacquered fingernails headed into the lair of a degenerate egomaniac bully drunk on power, who is seething for revenge, and was just elected to the highest office on Earth. That host is normally surrounded by a bizarre coterie including the richest man on Earth (and fellow power-drunk egomaniac), all who have the maniac’s ear and most of whom also seek extreme and wide forms of retribution. What could go wrong, right? But for this dinner and discussion the bully invited what on the surface looked like the more reasonable of his bad lot. Hopefully they were open to and heard a persuasive case.
Back at home an expectant (if not repugnant) heir apparent waited, and if past deeds and opinions are an indicator surely hoped the Prime Minister would fail in his quest to effectively advance Canada’s position. His comments since certainly support the bully.
Many think Trudeau should have taken a walk in the snow rather than the sun. Maybe they’re right. But when he’s representing Canada in another country it’s rather unseemly for provincial and federal politicians to attempt public kneecapping. After all, he may be on those knees performing official duties.
Trump had a temper tantrum and Trudeau simply humoured him by going for a visit. Its what you do with little kids. the premiers and other party leaders are getting their things in a knot over nothing. Trump is going to do what he wants and so can Mexico and Canada. As I recall last time Trump tried this the Gov. of some states were a tad unhappy because it would impact their economies.
These proposed tariffs will hurt the U.S.A. much more than Canada and Canadians. We have a better safety net.
The visit stroked trump's ego and Canada gave up nothing.
Trump is going and has made all sorts of wild plans. What actually happens may well be something else. What I find interesting is we have not heard much from Vance.
Trump is trying to yell fire to gain attention and try to make like he is going to do something, but really the fat f..k isn't
to do much of anything.
Maga crowd has already made all sorts of threats against Mexico but really, what is going to happen. Trump's carrying on about the cartels isn't going to do anything except cause some people to be killed.
If Trump does anything to negatively impact the bank balance of all those billionaires in the U.S.A. Trump may find himself looking for a new house and it won't be white. In the meantime if Trudeau wants to go humour the idiot south of the border, fine.
You are not paying attention Mr. K.....Trump doesn't want favourable trading between Canada and the USA....Trump wants Canada..
https://powellriverpersuader.blogspot.com/2024/12/donald-trump-just-announced-hes-coming.html
From the American Media, it is clear that the Mango Mussolini thinks Canada as a "Vassal State" and Trudeau a regional potentate.
The Canadian lame stream media remains quiet on this as they further misreport on Trump and Trumpism. As I have said before, this is 1933 all over again and the next shoe to drop will be: Peace in our time", when Canada is divided between a Trump USA and a Putin Russia.
Trudeaus daft post national state will have done its job as Canada, largely leaderless, fiscally rudderless, and morally bankrupt will be divided and swallowed up like Czechoslovakia and later Poland.
All I can say, it is time to obtain nukes because that will be the only defense M.A.D.
Its time to revisit Dr Strangelove.
Replace the fear of the nuclear bomb with Donald Trump.
See !!1It all fits. TB
Trump thinks all sorts of things about various countries and their leaders, but lets remember the man doesn't play with a full deck. If he weren't rich or semi rich and on the taxpayer's dime he might be in a mental institution. Of course in the U.S. they don't have much in the way of facilities.
Of course Trump would like to "own" Canada. He'd like to invade Mexico. He'd like to rule the world. Just leave him with his illusions and if he gets too in the way of things some will send him on his way.
Invading Canada would be a tad difficult. Dividing up Canada with Putin, its possible but the two idiots would most likely not trust each other and argue about who got the biggest part. Then there is the no small issue of Quebec.
It might be a good idea to improve the Canadian military, as in make it bigger, new weapons which work, etc. Nuclear weapons should be added to the stock pile. Its always good to be prepared. For decades my impression has been Canada never worried too much about a military, the U.S. would take care of things, but now we have Trump and who knows what he would do if there was enough money in it for him.
Interesting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcxSCBYm-90
Why, with his Liberals at nearly 20 points behind their rival Conservatives, is JT smiling but none of the other four party leaders are? Because he knows what he is doing but the others aren’t sure what that is. Somebody said he will be swinging at air, but the biggest shadow-boxing loser appears to be PP who is starting to make even ConVoters uncomfortable (a big problem when even his most-supportive faction’s affection for him is conditional while his least-supportive faction is sitting precariously on the bubble).
Everybody’s losing their shit over a patently preposterous threat from patently preposterous presidunce, but JT wasn’t slow to take advantage of it. His smile only got bigger when the Orange Boor quipped that Canada should be a 51st state. Why? Because it just made things even harder for PP. Let’s list the streak of bad fortune that will mark PP’s zenith of distracted, nearly meaningless popularity polls: First and foremost, tRump wins and PP appears to have only more of them same große Lüge while the only Canadian politician who has experience dealing with the Orange-Goo-Tan immediately looks like he still does—almost as if he knew what was coming; next, tRump threatens an idiotic tariff against the two nations which are either the USA’s biggest trading partner or best strategic buddy—or both—and PP foolishly sets himself apart in patriotic concern while in a snit that he’s not invited to the First Ministers’ confab (even right-wing pundits have criticized him for not being a “Team Canada” player—including Coyne giving him low points for ever being the kind of statesman Canadians expect a PM to be); next, Danielle Smith whom JT knew would break ranks from said national unity—and condemn PP by association; next, Smith and D’ohFo trying to make side deals, or “carve-outs” from their particular provinces—which doesn’t endear either with the ROC+Q; finally—so far, that is—the 51st state thing from which thread PP can hardly spin the kind of Big Lie when his everyday rhetoric proves he is a petty PP who doesn’t have much but the idle enmity he drones, ad hominem, at, in true große Lüge fashion, a single victim on whom anything and everything is blamed. PP looks as miserable as he’s unimaginative.
Jagmeet looks like something is about to slip through his fingers; Blanchet looks like his karma just ran over his dogma; the Greens are still trying to wind their keffiyeha’s right.
JT might be behind, but he hasn’t bet his last dollar yet and has more cards, or degrees of freedom, than anybody else to play with. Was the inclusion of Dom LeBlanc at the MAGA Logo dinner only about his ministry of Public Safety, or is there more to it? He did once contest the Liberal leadership in 2008 (dropping out to endorse Iggy) but did the JT large by standing aside to let the rookie MP win leadership when Iggy dropped out after failing to prevent Harper from winning the Cons’ 1st (and last) majority in 2011. (From 3rd-place, JT blew past 1st-place NDP and 2nd-place Cons to win a majority in 2015.) Well, to my point, only JT knows for sure. It couldn’t hurt to have the potential next get a good gander of the Orange One holding court.
My guess is JT’s in the best position to decide which of a number of routes he should take—but he owes LeBlanc and the party just happens to need a new leader sight now, if not sooner. Oh, yeah: it’s a minority, too, meaning that’s another card in JT’s hand: he can even pick the election date, presumably the most propitious for whomever leads the Liberals.
Why is JT smiling? There must be at least a few reasons.
I think Trudeau the Younger is smiling because the MAGA Conservatives have been caught out and isolated.
It started with Premier's Ford's rant "We are not Mexico.............", which got a lot more air time down south than the tariff debacle.
Alberta's MAGA Premier equally is lost for words and mindlessly blames border issues for the tariffs.
The list, keeps going.
look folks the tariffs are going to happen as it was a big part of the Mango Mussolini's election platform and with the Great mango's ill conceived and Kafka'ish cabinet posts crashing in flames he must impose tariffs on the terrible Mexicans and Canadians.
The retaliatory tariffs and export taxes will happen and there is now a more than a rumour of departure taxes for Canada ins going down south for cheap gas and food. Equally, there is talk about reducing ones Canadian medical for those staying south more than two months in the USA. it looks like the snow birds will get goosed.
The Canadian media or what is left of it, have missed the bus on the entire affair and look like a poor parody of FOX Entertainment. maybe their corporate bosses on Wall Street have something to do with that.
And now there is anew player on the block, corporate assassinations, to add a further dystopian flavour to the slow moving train wreck, the Mango Mussolini's, "sieg heil" Amerika is becoming and the Great mango isn't officially president yet.
Good points from Evil eye and Scotty on Denman...
Trudeau has gained a strategic advantage over his political rivals..
And any premier who cites the US/Canada border as a reason for tariffs, or justification is a fool, or liar, maybe both..
There are no metrics that Canada could achieve on the border that would cancel out Trump's reasons for the tariffs....Fent will still kill willing Americans that seek out the drug...and border crashers from Canada into the US is not really a thing.
Americans can't keep drugs out of their prisons...And if the supply coming from Mexico and Canada was miraculously stopped....It would get produced 100% inside the USA....Way too much money/profit to stop it.
Neither Canada, nor Mexico could ever achieve a benchmark that would satisfy Trump on the border and result in tariff removal..
Trump promised tax cuts....To everyone....How does America pay for them....With tariffs.
Dumbfyck Americans can pay for their tax cuts threefold with higher prices on everything.
It does seem odd that since Trump a accused both Mexico and Canada of being the issue with the USA drug problem that we have major drug busts on both sides of the US border?
Sacrificial lambs no less as illegal and semi legal businesses on both borders scramble to keep up with the new big guys on the block!
Most if not all of illegal cross border trade is facilitated by provincial , federal and state lawmakers.
BC business has for years been riddled with provincial government facilitation of illegal trade within the real estate industry! and forest industry .
Trump is destined to take it to a whole new level!!
The ideology we should fear is GREED.
TB
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