In true Canadian fashion, the border tensions have also caused a 25-year-old beer commercial about Canadian pride to gain renewed popularity. Comedy sketches about the trade war have gone viral online. And the heightened rivalry prompted about 1 in 6 Canadians to tune into the championship game of the 4 Nations Face-Off between Team Canada and Team USA — a just-for-fun hockey tournament played in lieu of a National Hockey League All-Star Game. It was the second-most watched hockey game in a decade, which I promise you is a lot, even for Canadians. (Team Canada won the game.)
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A February poll from Canadian pollster Leger found 27 percent of Canadians viewed the U.S. as an “enemy” nation. (By contrast, less than 1 percent of Americans described Canada this way in a poll from another Canadian pollster at the end of January.) As recently as 2020, fewer than 5 percent of Canadians described the U.S. as an enemy.
This needs repeating, 1 in 4 Canadians now think of America as an enemy.
One has to wonder, if 9/11 were to happen today, would NATO come to our defense as it did then. I don’t think it would. I think we would largely be on our own (unless a “deal” is struck).
The alleged negotiations between Lutnick and the Canadians, and the lack of threats to Canada, in last night’s speech, may signal a reconsideration of policy wrt that country.
There was no letup in the racist speech regarding people from south of the border tho, so abuse, threats, and jive, continue to be the daily narrative.
Deal or no deal, we will never get our reputation back as a strong ally. The only thing that time will bring is further independence from USA. Voting Trump into office in 2016 was bad wrt the rest of the world. Doing it a second time, after having seen what he was capable of, was unforgivable and unforgettable. Only the Russians win by Trumps re-election.
There is a thread being posted to re Musk and price of Tesla stock, in which I state this: We have steadfastly avoided products from and stock in Musk related companies because for years now, we have not trusted his impulsiveness. And before you say it’s a generational thing, our 30 and under cybersecurity expert and even our environmental scientist independently came to the same conclusion. Perception matters. Musk seems to be a wackadoodle.
The USA seems to be a wackadoodle. I see the rest of the world avoiding our product.
Who steals my purse steals trash; 'tis something, nothing; 'Twas mine, 'tis his, and has been slave to thousands; But he that filches from me my good name Robs me of that which not enriches him, And makes me poor indeed.
Consider why the US $ is the global “reserve currency”. Because of the impression of USian reliability. If the US starts acting like a psychotic school yard bully, people may fear us, but they will not respect us.
Steve…watching the return of “the ugly American”, that JFK tried to bury
IF? Now that the US is acting like a psychotic school yard bully…Fixed that for you.
Trump and his cronies can’t make enough with the USD remaining in strength. If given 4 years, they will tank the dollar, default on debt, and “save” us by using crypto they have all invested in…perhaps Trumps own crypto. You are thinking too small.
IP,
seriously hoping she is the wackadoodle, but there is already so much in place to support my fears
Great post, and let me trash my poorly composed one on the same theme.
Let me rely on your post and emphasize one point:
most of our and other discussions are overly focused on current costs and problems with Trump’s actions, but the BIG COSTS are the great damage done to the crucial reputation the USA painfully and expensively built up over decades as a (mostly) reliable, democratic, innovative, partner in the world.
Trump is using his habitual short term gain negotiating tactics on a world stage where the short term is radically less valuable than the long term. Military and diplomatic geniuses have long underlined the crucial difference between Grand Strategy focused on the long term
and mere tactics and stratagems, focused on the short term, like cheating contractors and customers, and being grossly insincere in negotiations, being untrustworthy, which can be perilously damaging.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday expressed uncertainty that NATO would come to the United States’ defense if the country were attacked, though the alliance did just that after Sept. 11 — the only time in its history that the defense guarantee has been invoked.
