Hugh Mackenzie
Huntsville Doppler
Some pollster last week, obviously with too much time on their hands, apparently found that 30 percent of Conservatives in Canada would, if they had the choice, vote for Donald Trump before they would vote for Justin Trudeau.
I hope that is not true. I fear that it might be.
Most people who read this column know that I consider myself a Conservative, albeit a middle of the road one. I am also no fan of the Trudeau Government.
But if that were the choice, if I were forced to choose between the leadership of Donald Trump or Justin Trudeau, I would vote for Trudeau in a heartbeat.
I am probably one of a very few people in our community who actually knew Donald Trump. Many years ago, my former firm acted for him on an issue dealing with the Government of Ontario. There are many stories to tell here, but they will have to wait for another time. What I learned from that experience, however, is that Donald Trump believed in his own brand. He believed in himself to the point that nothing else mattered. It was all about him. Everything else took second place.
I never thought that Donald Trump actually wanted to be president of the United States. I thought it was more of an ego thing, a marketing tool, a publicity stunt for the Trump organization: something he excelled at. I sometimes wonder if he was as surprised as were so many others, when he actually became president.
But it happened and it is an office for which he is totally unfit. He has an incredibly short attention span. He does not work well with others, and concepts presented to him that are contrary to his own opinion he views with suspicion. To be the least bit critical he views as disloyalty. Those who remain close to him know that. I find it fascinating to count, how many times Vice President Pence, in any speech he makes, metaphorically kisses Trump’s butt. It is the only way he can survive.
In my view, Donald Trump has the personality of a despot. He wants to be in total control. When he gets mad, he gets even. Everything else comes second, including the Constitution of the United States and his relationship with the rest of the world. It’s an obsession to the point where he sometimes speaks of himself in the third person. Have you ever heard another leader to do that? He truly believes he is the greatest. Especially in these times, that is dangerous.
Now we have the perfect storm: a pandemic, race riots, and a serious economic downturn all at the same time. And, in the United States, a leader who is more interested in his own image, his own reputation, his core supporters, and in encouraging division than he is in healing his nation or building bridges of unity and understanding not only at home but around the world.
It is in this atmosphere and context that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was asked last week whether he supported President Trump’s handling of the race demonstrations in the United States and, in particular, his photo op in front of a church, holding a bible, at the expense of forcibly removing and tear-gassing people who were demonstrating in a nearby park.
Instead of directly answering the question, Trudeau simply said nothing; complete silence for twenty seconds. He has been criticized for this, but it was exactly the right thing to do. It was not spontaneous. His handlers, his war room, would have known this question would come up and the strategy of silence was a deliberate one. It sent a clear message. He would do nothing to defend Trump’s actions. At the same time, he would to nothing to bring down the irrational and inevitable wrath and retribution of Trump on Canadians at a time when we least need it. I repeat, it was the right thing to do.
True leadership, in my view, unites people, it does not divide them. It heals, it does not wound, and it seeks compromise rather than rigidity. Donald Trump seems incapable of recognizing this. He appears much more comfortable in an ‘us against them’ atmosphere where ‘my way or the highway’ rules the day.
Black lives do matter, as do all lives, and I believe that a policeman in Minnesota willfully killed George Floyd, a black man, by blocking his airway for more than eight minutes. He knew what he was doing and, in my view, should be charged with first-degree murder. He was a bad cop and his actions have become a catalyst to bring out repressed anger and frustrations related to inequality and suppression, not just in the United States but also here and around the world.
The looters and the rioters were not there for George Floyd. They were there for themselves. The vast majority of these demonstrations, however, were for George Floyd and the implications of his death and they have been focused and peaceful, including the one here in Huntsville. I believe they will, in their totality, bring about needed change.
But let’s not throw out the baby with the bath water. All police are not bad, in fact the vast majority are not. Most really are there to serve and protect and they do put their lives on the line every day. It is very clear that some aspects of policing need to be reformed. The bad cops, the racist cops, need to be weeded out. Disciplinary action against police officers should be made public and sensitivity training, when it comes to dealing with minorities, needs to be increased. But defunding the police or getting rid of them altogether as some people are advocating, is not the answer.
Political leaders who do their best to divide and conquer are not the answer either. Someone needs to tell that to Donald Trump.
Maybe in November!
Hugh Mackenzie
Don’t miss out on Doppler!
Sign up here to receive our email digest with links to our most recent stories.
Local news in your inbox three times per week!
Click here to support local news
Here is my letter sent to PM Justin Trudeau Wed. June 3 2020 .
John Barltrop
Wed, Jun 3, 7:05 PM (6 days ago)
to pm, premier, patty.hajdu, andrew.scheer, elizabeth.may, jagmeet, bill.blair, premier, premier, francois.legault.asso, mayor_tory, mayorscarpitti, premier, krea
Dear PM Trudeau
I applaud your thoughtful silence yesterday about not discussing the issues that are presently happening in the USA re racism , protests, riots , and the absolute lack of leadership, as we in Canada have our own systemic racism in Canada from coast, to coast , to coast .
If you listened to Stockwell Day ( P&P CBC ), Premier Ford ( Ontario Legislature ), and Rex Murphy yesterday you would believe that all is well in this country.
WAKE UP WHITE PEOPLE ! There is systemic racism in a wide array of institutions in this country. This is an opportunity for white people to talk less and listen more to the POC and hear their hardships as they strive to contribute fully to this awesome country .
PS I totally disagree with NDP leader Jagmeet Singh and Francois Legault that you should have called out President Trump’s actions re US protests. Even former president Obama in his speech today re the US protests did not mention Trump’s name.
John Barltrop ( retired educator TDSB )
Markham, Ontario
most diverse, inclusive city in Canada
Mr. Clement; “There: I’ve written most of it for you. – smiley face”
I didn’t realize Hugh needed your help in writing his column. Perhaps he can find his own voice and his own thoughts without you. Imagine!
Mr. Cassie, you seem to be able to see the differences in degrees.
Mr. Clement, what is your basis for claiming malignant narcissism in Trudeau? You seem unable to recognize extremes in behaviour differences?
Proroguing parliament during your term in the Harper government may be viewed as flouting the traditional political norms, and there was no Covid 19 reality at the time.
Thank you Hugh, this was a wonderful article! Well worth reading right to the end.
I agree with Tony Clement…..both leaders are more alike than most Canadians care to admit. Trudeau is all about buying the next election for the Liberal Party.
His lengthy silence was the sign of his inability to think of an answer on his own, and none of his memorized platitudes came to mind.
Since when is silence a good answer from a head of state, Hugh? He is as unfit as Prime Minister as Trump is as President.
You’ve nailed it, Hugh! I’m both pleased and somewhat surprised that you would free yourself from political passion and speak with such common sense and candor. While Tony Clement chooses to remain in his political corner and feels a need to disparage Trudeau as if he is damaging our country as much as DT is destroying our neighbours to the south, you have chosen a higher level of discourse. Let’s not equate murder and mayhem with petty theft and speeding infractions. DT is all about himself while Trudeau is trying to be about Canada, not always successfully but always with grounded intention.
A few things:
.
Oh, yes, Trump wanted to be President. He was openly considering it as far back as the 80s, and made multiple attempts. See here: https://www.tvguide.com/news/donald-trump-presidential-campaign-timeline/ . Besides no one who doesn’t want a position loudly proclaims that if he isn’t elected to it, that’ll prove the election was rigged, and he did that several times in the 2016 campaign.
.
Second: with any luck he’s starting to regret it, as his approval polls and head-to-head polls with Joe Biden tank and show him worse positioned than he was against Hillary Clinton in 2016 (though of course anything can happen, still). Seniors were a major part of his base but he is losing them, probably due to his non-response to Covid-19. If trends continue, he’s going to lose in a landslide.
.
People worried about Trump pulling off a coup to stay in power, which I’m sure he would do if he could, can relax. Fascistic Coup 101: to take over, you must have the military on your side, and that’s even more important if it is as big, strong and well-armed as the US military. But the US military has signaled to him clearly, in their reaction to his despotic behaviour against the DC protest, that they aren’t on his side. James Mattis expressed it best, but he was joined by many others.
.
Re how many police are bad vs. good: it’s not about that. It’s about whether there is a racist culture within a police department or in police unions. After two Buffalo cops were suspended for beating up an unarmed protester, all 57 of their colleagues resigned from the riot-control unit (not the force itself) in protest, and it later came out that their union coerced them to. It’s the racist culture itself that is bad, handed down from older and higher-ranked cops to younger, junior ones, in a militaristic organization that sanctifies following orders.
.
And finally – great commentary, Hugh, thank you.
It sounded to me like you were talking about Trudeau instead of Trump. Doing what he wants when he wants with no consulting, viewing anyone with a different view as his as suspicious. I’m not a trump fan but I’d pick him over Trudeau any day of the week. Trudeau is selling Canadians out. Trudeau is like a kid in a candy store with Canadians money. We are going bankrupt.
The North American Free trade agreement signed by Mulroney and Regan was the start of the decline of manufacturing in North America.
Donald Trump,wether you like him or not is bringing manufacturing back to North America . While all previous administrations have aloud the outsourcing of all manufactured goods. Giving away our intellectual property so that we could exploit under developed countries and take advantage of their cheap labour . The temporary benefits we enjoyed over the last 25 years are now coming home to roost. We live in a resource rich country that imports finished goods manufactured with our raw materials. Could this be the reason why we are having trouble purchasing and securing PPE supplies in Canada.
How much will Canada pay to import PPE for their domestic market now?
Trump is a loose cannon but he did not allow the outsourcing of all manufactured goods in North America along with all our good paying jobs did he. He is bringing manufacturing home so the USA will not have to negotiate with a communist regime for PPE supplies.
Which is proving to be a very difficult task for Canada currently.
Will Canadians be willing to pay 12 dollars for something they purchased a year ago for under a dollar?
I’d like to see you tackle how Donald Trump and Justin Trudeau are in fact very similar political creatures (horrors!). They both exhibit extreme narcissism, flout traditional political norms (Justin cancels Question Period in favour of his cottage homilies) and they divide and conquer. They rely on a rabid base and seemingly have no long term strategic plans for their respective countries. There: I’ve written most of it for you! ?
Right on Hugh. Trump crows about the stock market as his principal achievement. Some experts say the stock market rise is just the tail end of a trend that started before Trump. Regardless of what one believes about that, the problem is that 84% of US stock ownership is held by the top 10%. The other 90% is suffering from the hollowing out of American industry and society over the last 40 years in which the 10% got richer and many of the 90% lost their once-livable jobs and their employer-paid health care that costs about $2,000 per month for a family, or they had to take a lower-paid job.
The root causes of the hollowing out are outsourcing to low-wage countries and automation of plants, and offices. Thousands of shopping malls were closed by automation (0n-line shopping) leaving deteriorating empty buildings. Retail employees lost their jobs (many of which are minorities).
The idea was that folks who lost their once-livable jobs would move on to even higher-skilled jobs, but the investments to upgrade workforce skills and mobility (portable health care) were never made, because it would require perhaps a 2% or 3% tax on the 10%. Along comes Trump who promised to reverse that trend and people believed him. He has left a trail of destruction in his misguided efforts to do so. Instead of helping the 90%, he helped the 10% with yet another un-needed tax cut. If he fools US voters twice, they deserve the fate.
In few words Hugh I agree with your comments.
I felt at the time when JT had the pregnant pause that it spoke volumes.
Thank you for agreeing.
Well written article. Worth reading.
I feel Trudeau could have said something along the lines: ” It is not our position to comment on how leaders of other countries choose to respond to their domestic problems / issues . We in Canada would not bring in the Canadian Military to prevent protestors from expressing their dissent. Only in the case where an avowed insurrection directed against the government with bombing and kidnapping of political figures would that happen in Canada. We hope out American friends can find a peaceful solution to their issues …….”
Thank you Hugh for your added anecdote about DT. From a duty of diligence by American psychologists, a letter was produced during the presidential campaign warning their people that DT’s overt behaviour exhibited in plain sight, a person with malignant narcissism personality disorder. (look it up, if unsure).
Where all of our politicians should pay heed is the use of populism in electioneering. In my opinion, populism is the emotional abuse of the electorate. The Fords and Harper have visited the GOP in the past to learn some of these tactics for campaigning. Populism was used by Hitler post WW1 in Germany to capitalize on the grievances of the German people devastated at the end of the war- that should say it all.
Also, where are those who are DT supporters locally getting their news? Yes, last year, I was in a local Huntsville restaurant, sitting in the next booth to a man pontificating on how awful Nancy Pelosi was – not her policies/political position, but slurring her as a woman. There were 2 women in the dining party – offering no objection as to the man’s portrayal of a female politician. I weighed the value of speaking, deciding not to cast my pearls before swine. I now regret saying something measured to him, not in anger.
We must measure our political leaders by performance in the service of Canadians; they will fall short at times, certainly. We must be willing to look at policy proposals, not popularity contests. I hope I am watching the maturing of those in political office, maturing as human beings given the challenges to health, economics, and treatment of others. Lets hope.
An excellent commentary Hugh! Thank you for defending J T’s silence. How else does one respond to Trump , this narsistic destructive man ! The whole world wrestles with his presidency. Let us hope enough Americans will see the light in November.
The Black Lives Matter peaceful protests can hopefully result in the much needed positive changes for ALL those of indigenous , racial and minority groups .
An excellent analysis of Donald Trump’s oligarchy. Thank you.
Excellent article Hugh.
Donald T. Is not a Conservative .He is an arrogant opportunist lacking any sort of moral compass . When he gets back to his full – time job as developer , lawyers and lawsuits will envelope him and I will smile !
Well said Hugh, once again you are right on the mark.
Hugh you would be shocked how many people in this town think very highly of the fool and i am not referring to Justin
Very good Hugh!
Very interesting I guess we will find out in Nov. what the American public think of Donald Trump but until then they are stuck with him for better or worse. It’s my understanding that until this virus hit the economy of the U.S. was doing the best it has in years. Not to sure we can say the same thing for Canada we just seemed to keep going farther and farther in debt and now it’s even worse Trudeau is giving money out like it grows in his special garden.