It was the coalition of sweet and sour, of yin and yang, of the good and the almost-evil. Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, became the third major political personality to visit Donald Trump, President of United States, on Monday. Apart from what we might have assumed, the meeting went quite well, or so the statement says.
“America is deeply fortunate to have a neighbour like Canada,” Trump said. “We share the same values, we share the love — a truly great love — of freedom…. American and Canadian troops have gone to battle together, fought wars together and forged the special bonds that come when two nations have shed their blood together.” Trudeau also extended his warmest wishes to the new President saying that there is perhaps no other pair of countries who have shared a history as deeply as U.S. and Canada.
Although the two political leaders confirmed and impressed about the strong sharing of values they hold, there was also an apparent dissimilarity between them. Especially when it came to the issue of refugees – while Trump maintained his stand of ‘not letting the wrong people in’, Trudeau emphasized that ‘Canada will remain open to everyone.’ The statement released also acknowledged that Canada is a vital foreign market for some 35 U.S. states, with more than $2 billion flowing across the border each day. Trump made a point that they want to be friendly with their neighbours, telling that they have problems with only their Mexican counterparts.
Trudeau was accompanied by a who’s who of the Canadian government, including Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale and Finance Minister Bill Morneau. Trump on the other hand had his dignitaries in place including his daughter Ivanka Trump.
The highlight of the meet was definitely the way Trudeau asserted his dominance over Trump subtly yet stylishly by overpowering Trump’s signature alpha male handshake. He overstepped it with a shoulder grab. Here’s hoping that at least some of the Trudeau righteousness rubbed off on Trump. Well, we delude ourselves!
