It took Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 21 seconds this morning to come up with something to say about the latest outrage in U.S. politics. It’s going to take much, much longer for Canadian leaders to come up with a way to coexist with a superpower and trading partner in deep trouble.
For 21 seconds on Tuesday morning, Justin Trudeau said nothing. Between the end of a reporter’s question about Donald Trump and the start of the prime minister’s response, there was a long, tense silence.
Anyone could have filled that silence with a stream of awful images and ideas from the last few days, and the last four years, in American life. But if it’s possible for silence to say something, this one spoke to the weight of this moment and the profound challenge ahead for the United States of America — and for this country and its leadership.
After four years of vulgarity and chaos — and with a deadly virus taking lives and ravaging local economies — the United States of America is seething. Canada’s second-oldest ally and largest trading partner is in turmoil. Its president has now sent federal security officers after peaceful protesters. He is threatening to deploy military personnel under powers granted to him by the Insurrection Act of 1807.
On Tuesday morning, Trudeau was asked if he would condemn the president publicly — and what message he would be sending if he didn’t. The reporter finished asking the question, but Trudeau remained quiet. Twice, he opened his mouth as if he was about to say something, but no words came. Finally, he started to respond:
Asked about U.S. President Donald Trump threatening the use of military force against protestors in the United States, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau paused for 21 seconds before saying “we all watch in horror and consternation.” He did not comment on Trump. 2:59
If Trudeau had taken the position from the start that it was one of his responsibilities to condemn Donald Trump whenever the president did something deserving of criticism, the prime minister might have found himself offering comment almost every day for the last four years.
The Trudeau government has criticized the administration’s acts directly on occasion — its policy of locking children in cages, for instance. But Trudeau has said more than once that his chief responsibility is to protect the economic and social welfare of Canadians — implying that upsetting the American president could have real ramifications for Canada.
‘Horror and consternation’
The risk, as many have argued, is that Trump’s excesses will be normalized — though Trudeau would sa