I don’t know how to say this.
I have a new-found appreciation for Donald Trump. No, wait, I didn’t say that.
I have a new-found respect for Donald Trump. Hell no, I didn’t say that either.
So what am I trying to say?
How about this? The man has had more effect as president than just about most other presidents, and he’s not even the president. It’s absolutely bizarre how many things are in a fire-drill frenzy just because this guy mouths off on his Truth Social platform.
Entire nations tremble. The leaders of those nations fall all over themselves to get inside the arc of his punches, including our own prime minister. Look at those pictures from Mar-A-Lago.
Trump does what he does, and says what he does, because he clearly knows the chaos he creates works to his advantage almost every single time. And the only time he ever did shut his mouth, he sat and appeared to sleep through his trial that found him guilty on 31 counts, yet it appears to have never happened. They once called gangster John Gotti the Teflon Don because charges against him never seemed to stick. They were way ahead of their time, and had the wrong guy, because this guy right now is the True Teflon Don.
He recently mused that Canada was the 51st state and that Justin Trudeau was its governor. Predictably, the shit hit the fan as Canadian politicians and other leaders went apoplectic at such intransigence. Which is exactly what he hoped to achieve. Or maybe they were just pissed that he left Trudeau as the governor.
He threatens Canada with a 25% across-the-board tariff. Again, in Canada, the political dogs bark and howl well into the night, exactly as he planned. Doug Ford threatened to cut off his energy. Other premiers threatened their own list of retaliatory measures. Pierre Poilievre threatened, well, not much of anything, but he did blame it all on Trudeau, because at least he’s got that part of his script nailed down. I mean seriously, we all know Justin Trudeau is a fentanyl dealer right?
Speaking of Trudeau, at least he never lost his hair over any of this, but that still doesn’t mean he hasn’t been hustling out proposed border security improvements, which is kind of funny because I always thought it was the responsibility of the United States to be their own border security. However, an increased Canadian presence at the border might have the effect of keeping out really bad American beer, which would be a win for most of us, so some benefit accrues.
The Liberals are also making noise about spending more money on defence and upgrading Arctic security in case those Russian hordes decide to bring their incompetence over the top of the world and attack Nunavut, you know, just because. It’s mostly because such an invasion would result in an environmental crisis in the North, with broken down Russian vehicles and starved soldiers who caught on fire littering Canada’s northern archipelago.
And so, weeks before he actually claims the White House back from those Democrat interlopers, Trump has already snapped Canada into shape without lifting a finger.
As if he’s gonna slap us with a 25% hit. That would cause havoc among states in his own country, not to mention torpedo his own automotive industry. And as if Canada is the 51st state, although Alberta might like a go at that, so they can be closer to their ideological brothers and sisters in Texas. But no worries if that were to happen. Future Prime Minister Doug Ford would simply build a tunnel under Alberta to ensure that BC doesn’t fall into the ocean.
To be clear, I’m not saying I’ve forgotten or walked away from being a Canadian, because I’m fiercely so, and fiercely proud of my country. So I don’t want to come across as diminishing or attempting to devalue or detract the sentiments of my fellow Canadians who rise up with something to say. The truth is that I’m actually proud of people for taking their stand, especially if it’s free of some other agenda. To stick up for Canada because it’s, well, Canada. And to have enough of our fellow Canadians who tear it down, denigrate it, and diminish it for their own purposes which to them seem more important than the health and well-being of their country and the pride and sanctity of its flag. People whose blind hatred for a prime minister is enough justification for them to support and participate in any level of national self-harm.
Charlie Angus is a long-serving and soon-to-be retiring member of the House of Commons. He’s a guy who’s received his fair share of office vandalism and death threats, threats that would be far worse if he had the misfortune of being a woman, and that says something right there. He stood in an empty House of Commons and delivered a statement, or remarks directed towards this current development of we being referred to as the American’s largest state. Sure the room was empty, I mean there’s no heckling and boorish behaviour coming from the other side of the aisle, and maybe there were only three or four other NDP members present to hear it, but nevertheless the statement was made with a genuine pride of country, notwithstanding the appearance of political grandstanding. Seems everyone’s got a touch of that in Parliament. There’s much he gets right, and I can’t fault him for saying it, no matter the circumstances. And maybe he said all this stuff to an empty room, and maybe it’s a fact that only a handful of Canadians would ever hear those remarks, but the important thing to me is that they were made. All I know is that I heard him, and so did others. And as importantly, so did Charlie, because sometimes it’s important to hear yourself articulate your own thoughts, almost as a way of self-editing. As if hearing yourself speak to what you think is part of some personal test of validity in thinking.
Everything Trump does and says is designed to get a reaction, and it works. He probably did it when he was a kid, and maybe that’s why his dad didn’t like him and his late mother had no photographs taken with him. She didn’t want evidence they were related.
I’ll freely admit that as recently as early November, I’d be reacting the same way as these people are now. But then the guy won again, convincingly, and I saw that I had more than met my match. I saw that there was absolutely no point in worrying about anything he had to say because he’s genuinely full of shit. Seriously, he is. And he loves it. And he had worked his magic on me successfully for years. So I resolved that I just wasn’t going to let the guy bother me. In fact, I don’t even read or watch anything that has anything to do with him. It doesn’t mean I’m not aware, I mean how could anyone go about their day without hearing or seeing something about the guy? It’s just that now I’m not going to let him upset me.
Now that I’ve taken that approach, I see so much more clearly the effect he has on people, friend or foe. And shake my head at how I was once just like them, this guy twisting me into a pretzel. Like really, what am I going to do about anything anyway?
Now I watch cat and kitten videos on YouTube and pet Blue The Cat that visits every morning from next door.
I just find it’s way easier.
NEWSMAGRENFREW 