Mr. Furey goes to Washington
Roger Bill
Andrew Furey will become the first Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador to attend the inauguration of a President of the United States.
Is it because he has great respect for Donald Trump, a man whose own sister describes him as an “unprincipled phoney” and a liar who “has no principles?” Or is it because the Premier wants to bask in the glow of the remarkable success of a convicted felon who bragged about groping women, about grabbing “them by the p****” because “when you’re a star they let you do it.”
Or is Premier Furey going to Washington because he hopes to play golf with a man whose habit of kicking his ball out of the rough and onto the fairway earned him the nickname “Pele” among caddies at one of his clubs?
No, Andrew Furey is going to the inauguration of Donald Trump, along with other provincial premiers, in the belief that it will somehow help persuade the incoming president not to impose a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian exports.
Presumably the same strategists who sent Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to Trump’s Florida residence shortly after his election victory think the Team Canada-goes-to-the-inauguration plan is a good idea. How did that trip to Mar-A-Lago go for Justin Trudeau? Donald Trump was so impressed by his Canadian visitor that he quickly labelled the Prime Minister “Governor Trudeau,” Canada as the future “51st state” of the United States, threatened to use “economic force” to make it happen, and described the boundary between Canada and the U.S. an “imaginary border.”
Trudeau’s Mar-a-Lago visit appears to be an object lesson in what happens if you give the schoolyard bully your lunch.
Maybe Justin Trudeau and Andrew Furey feel as polite Canadians it would be rude to refuse an invitation from Donald Trump to come to his inauguration. Trump has broken with tradition and invited several world leaders to his inauguration. “I’ve invited a lot of great people, and they’ve all accepted,” Trump told NBC News. “Everybody I’ve invited has accepted.” That is a lie. Xi Jinping, the President of the People’s Republic of China, isn’t going to be there.
Outgoing President Joe Biden will be there, but don’t expect to see Barack Obama, George W. Bush, or Bill Clinton. Mike Pence, who the Trump-inspired mob that attacked the Capital in 2021 wanted to hang, is skipping the ceremony, too. It is so chilly between Trump and some of his predecessors that George W. Bush ignored Trump, much less shook hands with him as he passed by Trump before taking his seat in a pew at Jimmy Carter’s funeral.
Trump II
When Donald Trump imposed tariffs on Canadian goods during his first term in office, Canadian political leaders responded in a coordinated way. Provincial premiers lobbied members of congress and state governors with whom they had relationships. Business leaders and industry and trade associations were lobbied. Whether it was labeled as a Team Canada approach or not, there was coordination to Canada’s response to Trump’s threat.
What is different this time is that Team Canada is going to help Donald Trump elevate his swearing-in ceremony into an international event. P.T. Barnum would love the move (P.T. Barnum, a 19th-century American showman, is widely credited with coining the phrase, “A sucker is born every minute.”)
During a Confederation Building scrum, Andrew Furey seemed to be genuinely offended when he responded to Donald Trump’s “imaginary border” remarks. Furey described Trump’s remarks as “completely unacceptable.”
“This is a strong sovereign country,” Furey said, that “was paid for in blood.”
Andrew Furey told year-end interviewers that one of his most emotional experiences during 2024 was fulfilling his role as next-of-kin in the repatriation of the remains of the Unknown Soldier. The Premier acknowledged he emotionally broke down several times as he followed the casket to its final resting place. The experience “changed me,” said Furey. Musing about Canada’s sovereignty is not a laughing matter for Andrew Furey.
Why then join Donald Trump’s adoring crowd for what is a domestic American political event? Why stand and applaud when the convicted felon swears to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States? Instead, take a leaf from George W. Bush. Skip the ceremony. Go to the reception at the Canadian Embassy. Do the lobbying.
There is obviously pressure to be a team player as Canada prepares for Donald Trump Act II, but what would John Ferguson or Dave Semenko do if the captain of the opposing team trash-talked them before the puck was even dropped?