ANALYSIS: Carney bypasses U.S. in first trip as PM
Glacier FarmMedia—On Sunday, instead of heading to Washington for his first international trip as prime minister, as new PMs have traditionally done, Mark Carney headed to Europe.
As the trade war rages and the U.S. administration continues to threaten Canadian sovereignty, it’s no surprise Carney is bypassing Washington and heading to Europe. It’s in an effort to, as he said in a speech last week, “create new trade corridors with reliable trade partners.” He emphasized the world “reliable.”
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When asked previously if he would be making a trip to see the U.S. president, he said, “I’m ready to sit down with President Trump at the appropriate time under a position where there’s respect for Canadian sovereignty.”
In the midst of the current political hurricane that swirls around Washington, there is good reason for Carney to avoid being caught in an Oval Office media scrum with the president.
Just like the measles, which has broken out in Texas, it’s a good idea to avoid prolonged contact with either it or Trump. Nearly everyone who comes in contact with either suffers or comes away diminished in some way.
Last week, NATO secretary general Mark Rutte sat in the guest chair in one of those press events. Trump went on to say he wants to acquire Canada and Greenland, both NATO territories.
“For me, I will leave out if Greenland joins the U.S. in this discussion because I don’t want to bring NATO in there,” he said.
NATO exists specifically for the purpose of defending its member countries, which include Canada and Greenland as part of Denmark.
Rutte was criticized for his action—or lack of it—in that meeting.
A few weeks prior, U.K. prime minister Kier Starmer, like Rutte, adopted the prevailing wisdom of appealing to Trump’s shallow ego by profusely flattering him to try and achieve some aim. Starmer presented Trump with a second “unprecedented” invitation from the king, noting how prestigious it was.
The objective was to bolster U.S. support for Ukraine as the administration continued to cozy up to Russian president Vladimir Putin. However, the U.S. has clearly sided with Russia over Ukraine and imposed steel and aluminum tariffs on the United Kingdom. Despite all his ego stroking, Starmer’s actions achieved little, if anything.
Similarly, French president Emmanuel Macron lowered himself to apply copious amounts of flattery during his turn in the Oval Office guest seat. He gently corrected Trump’s oft-repeated lie that the U.S. has contributed more money than the European Union to Ukraine’s defence.
Trump publicly dismissed Macron’s fact checking assertions during that event.
Now France faces a potential 200 per cent tariff on champagne, along with all the other U.S. tariffs imposed on the EU.
Then there was the infamous Zalinskyy visit. Trump and his mini-me vice-president ambushed Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zalinskyy, berating him in an extraordinary and repulsive display. Zalinskyy showed some understandable frustration but defended himself with integrity.
He was then ejected from the White House. Unlike Starmer and Macron, he had maintained his dignity, but the U.S. then promptly cut off military supplies and intelligence aid to his country.
Russia used the brief tactical advantage to ramp up its rocket and drone attacks on Ukrainian civilians. Trump shrugged it off when asked as something “anyone would do.”
Robert Bothwell, a professor of Canadian history and international relations at the University of Toronto, was quoted by the Associated Press as saying Carney is wise not to visit Trump.
“There’s no point in going to Washington,” Bothwell said in the article.
“As (former prime minister Justin) Trudeau’s treatment shows, all that results in is a crude attempt by Trump to humiliate his guests. Nor can you have a rational conversation with someone who simply sits there and repeats disproven lies.”
For world leaders, being in the presence of Trump is like exposing themselves to the measles virus. There’s no upside to it. Everyone who comes into contact with it ends up suffering. And just like the measles, the Trump presidency was entirely preventable. It’s unfortunate the roughly 71 million U.S. voters who put him into office didn’t get the vaccine.
Source: Farmtario.com