Like Al Capone in a Syphilitic Period Trying to Do a Shakedown

A couple videos not to be missed:

Charlie Angus on Trump - full transcript below:

Angus: "What President Trump also said is that the tariffs will not come off until we give up our birthright and our sovereignty to a convicted predator. That is never, ever, ever going to happen. So what Donald Trump has done is unify Canadians in a manner I've never seen before. And while Americans may be waking up to the tariffs, we've already started the pushback. People in Kentucky, did you know that your biggest export market for spirits is Canada? We just took everything off the shelf. California, did you know that the largest purchaser of wines in the world is the liquor agency in Ontario? You don't get any more California wines in Ontario. Elon Musk, our premier just canceled a $100 million deal today. Canada is getting ready for this fight because we know that he's erratic, may be this week, may be next week, but there's a huge actual boycott going on. Grocery stores, ordinary people, people stopping on the streets. Nobody is buying anything that comes out of the United States right now, because we understand this is a threat to who we are as a nation." 

Interviewer question: "There are also Republicans here in farm states concerned about ingredients for fertilizers that come from Canada as well. There are a myriad of products that we are just learning about as Americans. Fascinating, although perhaps not under duress to learn about them. He's obviously looking for some kind of concession. You hear him. He talks about Colombia. He's talking about Mexico and the 10,000 Mexican troops, and I know you view him as unreasonable, to say the least here. But do you think that ultimately Canada might end up conceding, or is that not even a possibility?" 

Angus: "Well, I think the issue is, is that Donald Trump is claiming Canada is a narco state. The man's a liar. So would we put some more money on the border? Sure. I'd love to put more money on the border to keep American guns from shooting our people on the streets. We would do that to avoid a trade war. We're reasonable as Canadians. But when you have somebody threatening our sovereignty, well, we're hunkering down for a fight here. So, yes, for people in the grain growing belt, potash from Canada is essential. For the tech people, critical minerals; we've already had our B.C. Premier talk about shutting off the critical mineral flow. Would you need that? But the big issue, and I think it was raised by some of your previous panelists: auto. The auto sector is so integrated that within a week, even without the retaliatory trade, pressure from Canada, you'll start to see Lansing, Toledo, Bowling Green start to sputter and go down because this is just-in-time delivery. Our whole North American economy is based on this. So Donald Trump thinks that Canada is his biggest enemy? The guy wouldn't stand up to Putin; he gives a feather to China, but he's going to pick a fight with us? Well, if that's the way it's going to be, we will be there, pound for pound. It's going to hurt us a lot. But the American people are much more divided than we are right now, and we are unified. So, we wait to see what comes next." 

Interviewer Question: "We're going to see this call or hope to see soon what comes of it. It's supposed to take place in about 45 minutes. Would you say then that Canada is going to call his bluff, or is already calling his bluff?" 

Angus: "Well, we've already announced, I think $125 billion in retaliatory tariffs. We will give 21 days pause so that our companies can start to retool before we launched the next level. We've already started pulling off a lot of American products off the shelves prior to this. I'm hoping that our prime minister will cut a deal. I think with Donald, it's so important that he looks like he's won something. I mean, this isn't gunboat diplomacy. This is really, I don't know, like Al Capone in a syphilitic period trying to do a shakedown. So, yeah, we'll make concessions on something that, you know, he can write a press release about. But on key areas, Canadians would, I think, would hunt our leaders down if they bowed and kiss the ring to the man from Mar Lago. It's not going to happen. So we shall see. I'm hoping that we can get through this and get back to work with our American cousins."

Time will tell if placating Trump by adding troops to the border was Trudeau's Neville Chamberlain move or the best possible strategy. Angus isn't running for leadership, and we have no Churchill in the wings.

AND check out how much Poilievre is copying Trump directly. We really have to keep him out of power. 

 

It's like that lovely father and son scene from Jaws, except these guys are going to destroy life for anyone remotely marginalized. 

ETA: Bruce Arnold, in The Star, wrote:

"Trump truly, wrongly believes tariffs will enrich the United States. He is an incompetent blusterer, and even though Canada got Trump to back off his tariff threats, the idea of annexation is planted. That threat won’t vanish. This is economic wartime. We are not dealing with a logical opponent; we are dealing with a mad, foolish predator surrounded by fanatics. Canada fights together now, or Canada falls apart. 

Some people, fattened and cosseted by the relative safety and sleepiness of this country, or blinded by the post-pandemic problems — and really, by Canada’s general post-Cold War austerity in health care, housing, education, long-term care, infrastructure, the military — have demanded a reason to fight for the country. What binds us together? Hockey? Less than ever. Medicare has been badly bruised, despite the professionals holding it together. Housing is a nightmare, and the pandemic expanded society’s cracks. So many of the common cultural values we once held have largely atomized in the age of the internet: we don’t have “The Beachcombers” to watch anymore. But there’s still something here. You’re damned right Canadians are booing “The Star Spangled Banner” at hockey and basketball games; you’re damned right Canadians are taking U.S. liquor off the shelves. You’re damned right we’re furious. I’m furious at the fascists and criminals ransacking the American government, and furious at the quislings and Vichy Canadians who have decided patriotism might be optional. If you feel that way, you were never very patriotic at all....

No other nation is as threatened by Trump, and the world will watch how we respond: whether we fortify ourselves against the madman and his fanatics, or whether we splinter. So what are we fighting for? What did Canada do for you? It allowed you to live in a country that welcomes people who share the value of collective individuality, and that has been largely sheltered from the harshest currents of the world. You got to be a part of this thing. Well, the world is arriving in a rush, now. Time to be Canadian, for everything it’s worth."

Here's a Made in Canada Guide that might be a start.