That went well

Or did it?  Carney looked very weak during his meeting with Trump in the Oval Office.  Lots of  "pundits" on the airwaves and in opinion pieces have praised his restrained performance, but I thought he looked less than "in charge", as he sat beside The King.  

I was disappointed at Carney's choice of the henchmen (or should I say, "henchpersons") who accompanied him.  He obviously chose them because of their portfolios (same old same old), not because of their personas.  That was a mistake because Trump judges everyone on persona, not on portfolio or experience. Frankly, I would have walked in there alone.  That would have unsettled them. 

Speaking of personas, Trump really let loose on Freeland and Trudeau.  It was obvious Freeland was a disaster during the free trade mess with the U.S. and Mexico.  As I have blogged, I was part of the original team negotiating the first NAFTA in 1994 with the U.S. and it wasn't that difficult.  We all behaved professionally and comported ourselves as was due the magnitude of the task.  The politicians did their thing, but we did the deal.  I am very proud of my work on that.

Freeland didn't succeed.  She tried to bully everyone because that's her personality.  As for Trudeau, Trump smelled phoniness from day one.  He was not wrong. 

Once again, there was the rumpled LeBlanc, looking like he had slept in his suit for days and had forgotten his comb for his comb-over.  LeBlanc had already travelled to Trump's lair at Mar a Lago and returned with absolutely nothing.  Why Carney dragged him along, I have no clue?!

Then there was McGinty.  Frankly, he looked like the Howdy Doody of my childhood, except that Howdy actually had something to say.  McGinty just sat there mute and dumbfounded.

And as for Mélanie Joly, she looked like she had just rolled in from a boozy night out -- hair a mess and black roots everywhere.  Why will she never tie it back and try to look a tad professional, instead of someone desperately running for Prom Queen?!  

Trump keeps talking about the fake Canada/U.S. border and frankly, he may have a point.  The 49th parallel border was drawn according to the Treaty of 1918 and the Oregon treaty of 1846, but several parts were re-negotiated and are dubious.

Trump's talk about Canada becoming the 51st state is simply bluster.  Any such move would have to be approved by the House and Senate and would necessitate military intervention.  Never going to happen.  But Carney was not forceful enough and only committed to the two percent GDP for NATO in five years.  He also did not vow to bring down the trade imbalance more drastically.  Both would have been sufficient to get Trump to shut up for a while.  

Overall, unless Carney changes course, he laid an egg during the trip.  The aggressive rhetoric he spouted during the campaign didn't manifest itself during the meeting.  He was all thumbs-up and smiles -- totally at odds with his promises during the election. 

Despite the rhetoric, Carney came across as a buddy.

I feel very sorry for Pierre Poilievre.  The poor guy had his entire platform stolen by Carney and was robbed by the votes Singh's supporters transferred to the Liberals.  

Bottom line?  Carney won because he convinced everyone he was the tough guy to deal with Trump.  Didn't work.  Will it?  I doubt it.