I would also add that one of Trumps main tactics is to “Flood the zone with shit” basically doing so much that is shockingly egregious that its hard to keep up. Then while the media is flapping over this latest outrageous thing Trump said, they miss something that is less flashy that Trump actually did.
His Canada rhetoric is a perfect example of this. The idea that we would forcibly annex our closest ally is absurd, but its attractive enough to American first bozos that he can run with it. Meanwhile while everyone has focused on that he as muzzled the NIH and FDA, dropped out of the WHO, and opened the path for pay to play drug approval.
So while I am very supportive of our neighbors to the north and agree that Trumps attacks on them are irresponsible and dangerous, I am going to reserve my greatest outrage for actions he has actually taken rather than threats that may or may not be realized.
The emotions that all of us sane Americans feel when presented withT***p’s hostility toward Canada and his other appalling traits are shame, fear, and disgust. Sadly, sanity is a quality that seems to be in short supply south of the border these days. In the before-times I would have expected the Free Press to be decrying the ascension of the Neo Nazis in general and their belligerent attitude toward our allies in particular, but what passes for news media down here now is pretty laughable.
I think Canada should strike back. I bet California (where I live) would join you in a heartbeat, and Washington and Oregon would do the same. So annex us! PLEASE! The Province of California trips nicely off the tongue.
At this point all we can do is apologize. Dems were too disorganized, and the Repubs were enthralled by their party’s extravagant hatemongering. tRumpy is the result. We’ll fix it.
I am not in the least surprised that a narcissistic con man who comes into power would commit injustice after injustice and cause damage that will take generations to undo. Including poisoning the relationship with our staunchest ally.
But I am nearly paralyzed with depression to think of the widespread support he has received and to realize that such a large percentage of our population somehow thinks that all this is OK. How could this happen?
I cling to the hope that most of his ranting about Canada will prove to be empty threats, and he will be stopped before he damages our alliance much further. But all my other hopes with regards to this menace have proved vain.
I agree that in America, there should have been more outrage at the mere suggestion that we take over Canada.
It’s easy to say “this could all just be bluster.” But the threat itself has done real damage. The most valuable alliances are based on trust, not fear. Canada is arguably the ally we depend on the most. How can they trust us now?
In the 21st century, it’s insane for a US president to – out of nowhere! – threaten Canadian sovereignty. In a sane world, said president would face such a backlash that he would be forced to resign.
I’ve got about 500 rounds of rifle ammunition, and I know a guy who can get me a few dozen rounds of 12 ga. shotgun ammunition. I do have the firearms for such ammo, by the way.
Americans who think “Canadians have been disarmed because of that pansy Trudeau, so we can invade, and Canucks can’t do anything about it” will find themselves surprised that we actually have guns, and in defense of our country, are prepared to use them.
If US Army troops come marching down my street, the point leader can expect a rifle shot between the eyes. Yes, I’m that good with a rifle. The rest of the squad will get a few shotgun blasts. Murder? No. Defense of Canada, even on my typically quiet street, is what matters.
That’s how we all feel here. With Trump’s threats about “the 51st state” and “Governor Trudeau,” the United States under Trump think it will be a walkover. No, not at all. Even if we disregard the Canadian Armed Forces, the fact remains: Canadians are armed.
Pretty sure that we’re better at building IEDs than Afghanis. And pretty sure that we can build a nuke bomb in short order. Just saying, is all.
Yeah. That’s how the Canadians I’ve been talking to feel.
My great-grandfather was decorated for his marksmanship in the Fenian Raids, something which is a great point of pride in our family.
And while this record has since been superseded by Craig Harrison of the British Army “Blues and Royals”, I’d like to remind everyone of how well Canadian snipers did in Afghanistan -
In addition, operators from the Joint Task Force 2 (JTF-2), a Canadian special-operations unit similar to the US Army’s Delta Force, worked independently and directed airstrikes against the enemy.
The Canadian snipers hit the ground running, racking up multiple kills, but they truly distinguished themselves a few days into the operation, when Master Cpl. Arron Perry took out an Al Qaeda fighter who was acting as a forward observer.
Perry’s shot was from 2,310 meters, or 2,526 yards, breaking the record for the longest sniper kill. But glory was not his for long.
A few days later, Cpl. Rob Furlong broke that record with a 2,430-meter (2,657-yard) shot against an enemy machine-gunner.
By the end of Operation Anaconda, the Canadian snipers had made the difference, killing numerous enemy fighters and saving countless US lives. As a result, the five snipers received the US military’s Bronze Star Medal for Valor, the fourth-highest award for bravery under fire.
In 1812, Thomas Jefferson claimed taking Canada would be a ‘mere matter of marching’, being convinced that Canadians wanted to join the United States. As I said about Trump’s inauguration moving indoors - “Canadians wouldn’t be afraid of the cold; we just burn the White House for warmth”.
(And please don’t give me that bullshit about ‘Canada didn’t exist in 1812’ - US forces invaded Upper and Lower Canada, even if they were governed as British North America.)
I cannot improve on this excellent post. It sums up my feelings as well. In whatever ways are possible should concrete action take place, I and many others I know will resist from our side.
My closest friend here in the USA is Canadian. I’m embarrassed to even have to talk with her about this madness from our government. We are equally appalled.
Far too late. Nuclear weapons take time to build and such an effort cannot possibly be hidden. Any effort to build them would result in immediate war long before they were ready.
(And please don’t give me that bullshit about ‘Canada didn’t exist in 1812’ - US forces invaded Upper and Lower Canada, even if they were governed as British North America.)
But they were BRITISH. From the actual Britain, the British isles. They were not from Canada. Specifically they were troops freed up from the Peninsular War.
You know I’m Canadian and am fully aware Canada existed prior to 1867. But those guys were not Canadian.
I beg your pardon - I thought some of our fencibles and other Canadian militia were involved in that action along with some Halifax-based naval resources. Carry on…
While I understand your frustration about this, I think it all just Trumpian bullshit. He has no real intentions of taking over Canada. Hell, he has no real intentions of doing anything that doesn’t benefit himself or his sponsors. As someone mentioned above, he’s doing this as a smokescreen to hide the damage he is trying to do to various three letter agencies and the rest of the country/world.
I mean, do we really think he’s going to buy Greenland? In the meantime he’s already started withdrawing from the WHO.
But he doesn’t have to take us over to fuck us up. Badly. 25% tariffs from our biggest trading partner? That’s going to be brutal!
And I really hope all of you who say there’s nothing you can do understand - we will have to respond to these hypothetical tariffs, and those responses are going to hurt individual US citizens more than they will hurt Trump and his cronies. Let’s face it, the people making these decisions are all in the top 1 - 5 % of wealthy people.
But if Trump imposes those tariffs, it’s nothing personal, but Canadians are actively talking about counter-tariffs, cutting off oil, gas, and electricity to the US, turning US citizens back at the border in the name of security, strip searching individuals and tearing your vehicles down to nuts and bolts in the name of security.
My personal favourite - cut off electricity sales to the US, and run all that excess power into generating Crypto-currencies to fuck up the Trump Crypto-currencies.
Trade is weird. Slapping tariffs on Canada makes the US poorer, while it makes a few industries in the US richer. Same for Canada - slapping tariffs on the US makes Canada poorer while enriching a few industries in Canada. Trade negotiations are a way of leveraging your own country’s exporters to build political support for doing what’s really in your own country’s interest anyway. This is a first approximation - there are more complicated concerns related to industrial policy and simpler complications related to national security.
Trump grasps none of this. Or rather he doesn’t want to: trade policy creates potential to favor or disfavor domestic industries in arbitrary and capricious ways, something very attractive to a President as corrupt as Donald Trump. Trump has no interest in positive sum games: he wants to punish and reward US domestic industries, ultimately to pad his pockets.
America’s enemies will bribe and publicly flatter Trump. America’s friends will push back. Go to it, Canada.
Which is the real problem. If these people wanted sane leadership and good relations with our most important strategic partners, they could bend Trump to their collective will or encourage their bought-and-paid-for Congresspeople to impeach and (this time) remove Trump from office. But they don’t because they recognize this opportunity “to gild refined gold, to paint the lily.” And of course, the richest of the wealthy is now openly consorting with fascists in other countries and unapologetically making Nazi arm signs because nobody, least of all Donald Trump, is going to tell him to knock. it off and grow the fuck up.
As you note, these tariffs and the stupid trade wars they will inaugurate will hurt the Americans that Trump is supposed to be serving more than the countries from which those goods are sold. For Trump, it is absolutely personal; he is revenging his mostly perceived offense on the American people and anyone else who refuses to fête him with great reverence and showers of money, even if he has to burn the United States down to the waterline and disrupt the global economy to do so.
I believe this to be true… Canada’s best hope for a real deterrent might be British or French nukes. I understand that Britain and other NATO members can’t project enough force over the Atlantic - and I’m sure they do not want nuclear war with the US. But if we start seeing American troops being drafted and mobilized along the border - I’ve wondered if Britain / France would ‘lend’ some nukes to the Canadian Army.