The Best Christmas Gift is a World without Them
Trudeau, Trump, and Tariffs
Almost any leader, even a semi-competent one, could have used Trump’s threat of a trade war to ride a nationalist white horse to a new height of popularity and power. Being David against Leviathan brings all the benefits to David. However, we are dealing with Trudeau, i.e., not even a semi-competent leader. Contrary to those who imagine there always being some invisible “cabal” manipulating everything, leaders really do matter in the real world—and Trudeau has managed to plunge an economy into a downward spiral, while multiplying divisions at home.
Trump, no genius, somehow sniffed blood in the water. His threat of tariffs seems to have been designed to tip Canada over the edge. Is this because Trump secretly wants to bestow a gift on Canadians for Christmas, in the form of Trudeau resigning in disgrace and a new government to come? I doubt it. It looks and sounds too much like a battle between two gigantic, equally insufferable egos.
(For the purpose of analysis, we have to note the order in which developments occurred. Canadians turned against Trudeau well before Trump was even elected. Trump did not engineer the downfall of the Canadian government, but he certainly helped to give it a final push. What was happening in Canada already was accelerated by Trump’s threatened trade war [which he will suddenly “suspend” once he sees a government he likes in Ottawa]. It is also important to recognize that Trump not only interfered in the affairs of a sovereign nation, he threatened and belittled that nation’s sovereignty. Trump has repeated his insults, calling Canada a “State,” the “51st state,” and demoting Trudeau to a “Governor”. This is also telling: Trump is not an anti-globalist; on the contrary, he is one with the origins of all globalism: imperialism. Trump has no respect for borders or sovereignty, and would quickly erase them to plant that other, older, globalist flag: that of the United States.)
If Trudeau does not resign today, then we will know for certain that he is an absolute nihilist, willing to sacrifice an entire nation for the sake of his vanity. We will be watching.
Trump is not in the clear either. He really is a convicted felon. And last night, while Trump was throwing insults at Canada, the judge in his own "hush money" trial ruled that Trump has no immunity. Therefore we have the unanimous decision of a jury, that found Trump guilty on all counts, and no immunity. Logically, one would think that the next step is a prison sentence. We will be waiting and seeing.
In my view, the best Christmas gift to the world would be the fall of Trudeau, and the fall of Trump.