It's hard to overstate the damage Trump has done in two weeks. From the perspective of an American in Canada, the US brand is now toxic. We've watched television pundits laugh over "51st state" remarks and listened to not just Trudeau but the entire country being insulted openly by the president of the US. And then we were threatened wit…
It's hard to overstate the damage Trump has done in two weeks. From the perspective of an American in Canada, the US brand is now toxic. We've watched television pundits laugh over "51st state" remarks and listened to not just Trudeau but the entire country being insulted openly by the president of the US. And then we were threatened with economic recession for no reason whatsoever. The tariffs might be on pause, but Canadian anger is still boiling. Even the most pro-American Canadians I know are saying they don't want to go to the US anymore, and they're happy to keep boycotting US goods.
The president represents the country. If reporters stand around listening to Trump trash talk allies without pushing back--or even expressing mild dismay--that sends a message.
It's beyond comprehension that anyone could seriously have believed that Trump's bullying idiocy and sociopathic amorality were the keys to making America "great again." The Kremlin and its mouthpieces have long been calling him their "wrecking ball" against America, and the like. But MAGA ideologues have been laser-focused on punishing the Americans they hate, thus completely missing how destructive their god-king is to our standing in the world. They also seem to favor the Russian model, in which trying to be the world's biggest bully is better than having friends and allies.
It's hard to overstate the damage Trump has done in two weeks. From the perspective of an American in Canada, the US brand is now toxic. We've watched television pundits laugh over "51st state" remarks and listened to not just Trudeau but the entire country being insulted openly by the president of the US. And then we were threatened with economic recession for no reason whatsoever. The tariffs might be on pause, but Canadian anger is still boiling. Even the most pro-American Canadians I know are saying they don't want to go to the US anymore, and they're happy to keep boycotting US goods.
The president represents the country. If reporters stand around listening to Trump trash talk allies without pushing back--or even expressing mild dismay--that sends a message.
It's beyond comprehension that anyone could seriously have believed that Trump's bullying idiocy and sociopathic amorality were the keys to making America "great again." The Kremlin and its mouthpieces have long been calling him their "wrecking ball" against America, and the like. But MAGA ideologues have been laser-focused on punishing the Americans they hate, thus completely missing how destructive their god-king is to our standing in the world. They also seem to favor the Russian model, in which trying to be the world's biggest bully is better than having friends and allies.