SOURCE: CTVNews.ca, 2020-06-02
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.
[Source]
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau did not speak for some 21 seconds when asked to comment on U.S. President Donald Trump's handling of protesters in the United States, ultimately avoiding even saying Trump's name in his eventual response.
During a press conference on the front steps of Rideau Cottage on Tuesday, Trudeau was asked for his thoughts on Trump's call for military action against protesters across the U.S. Rather than offer an immediate answer, the question was met with silence. After a few seconds, Trudeau opened his mouth slightly, but did not speak. His silence continued for more than 20 seconds.
Finally, Trudeau spoke.
"We all watch in horror and consternation what's going on in the United States," he said. "It is a time to pull people together, but it is a time to listen, it is a time to learn what injustices continue despite progress over years and decades. But it is a time for us as Canadians to recognize that we too have our challenges, that black Canadians and racialized Canadians face discrimination as a lived reality every single day."
He went on to speak about the systemic discrimination racialized Canadians face within Canada, but he did not directly speak about Trump's position on protesters or even mention the president by name.
Trudeau wasn't the only one in government to be pushed for a comment on Trump's recent call for crackdowns on protesters. When Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was pressed on the issue during a press conference Tuesday, she too refused to directly mention Trump in her response.
"As a Canadian politician, as a Canadian leader, my focus is on Canada and it is on being very clear within our government and with Canadians that this is not a problem to which we are immune. It is a problem here in Canada, and it is our job today to listen to Canadians, to listen to black Canadians, and it's time for us to act," she said.
When asked whether she and Trudeau were avoiding direct criticism of Trump for fear of blowback from the United States, Freeland said her real concern lies with "Canadian complacency."
"I think that it's really, really important for us to set our own house in order and for us to really be aware of the pain that anti-black racism causes here in our own country, of the reality that we do have systemic discrimination here in Canada, and I think that we as Canadians, all of us, need to take this very traumatic moment for many people in the world as an opportunity to look at what we are doing in Canada and to work hard to do better," Freeland replied.
As protests spurred by the police-involved death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, demonstrations have been taking place in Canadian cities including Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal, in solidarity with those decrying anti-black racism in the United States, as well as to protest police-involved deaths in Canada. In Toronto, protesters have also been demanding answers in the death of 29-year-old Regis Korchinski-Paquet, who fell from her apartment balcony while police were present.
Speaking Monday, Trudeau said he had a message for young black Canadians.
"I hear you when you say that you are anxious and angry. When you say that this brings back painful experiences of racism that you've faced. I want you to know that I am listening, and that your government will always stand with you," Trudeau said. "Together, we will keep taking meaningful action to fight racism and discrimination in every form. The status quo - where people face violence because of the colour of their skin - is unacceptable."
SOURCE: CTVNews.ca, 2020-06-02
Watching Justin Trudeau's daily COVID-19 briefings lately is to believe the time has come to shelve the ritual as being well beyond its best-before date. When billions in emergency program spending were rolling out and course corrections were a regular feature of these media encounters, it made sense for the prime minister to personally face a nervous nation.
Recently, though, it's more about rehashing the government agenda and taking credit, deserving or otherwise, for pandemic responses. In other words, it is no longer must-see TV.
Then came Tuesday's 21 seconds of silence.
Trudeau was asked for his reaction to U.S. President Donald Trump's threat to use the military to suppress George Floyd protests while tear-gassing peaceful demonstrators near the White House so he could stage a Bible-holding photo-op outside a nearby church.
What made the question particularly daunting was the second part of reporter Tom Parry's question: "If you don't want to comment, what message do you think you are sending?"
Trudeau stared at the camera -- and said nothing. The sign language interpreter folded her hands. Not a bird chirp could be heard.
Finally, Trudeau sought verbal refuge in acknowledging everybody has challenges with systemic discrimination, including Canada.
Now, there are only two ways to explain how a prime minister was caught flat-footed when asked for reaction to Trump's behaviour that has outraged the United States and is reverberating around the world.
Either his spin doctors had a huge fail before the briefing by neglecting to arm Trudeau for a question that was obviously going to be asked.
Or some genius in his communications army suggested the best escape from a no-win predicament was for the boss to simply stand at the podium for an uncomfortably long time while appearing to struggle for the right words.
One of my friends figured the teleprompter had stopped working, leaving Trudeau tongue-tied for his rehearsed lines. But, even though it often seems that way, there was no electronic babysitter ready to spoon-feed a script to the prime minister.
So we might never know how Trudeau came up with a perfect way to express his personal outrage without giving the president cause for a cross-border counterpunch.
But perfect it was.
No American president has ever seemed this foreign to the vast majority of Canadians, unleashing behaviour that defies comprehension with such deadly consequences.
Yet no president has shown the capacity to take politics so personally, reacting with a vengeful temper to real or perceived slights.
That gives Trump immunity from candid criticism by allies who know the economic cost for incurring his wrath isn't worth the political benefit of saying the right thing.
Hitting the mute button is particularly challenging for Trudeau, a prime minister with the habit of being preachy about gender, visible minority and Indigenous rights to other nations while his government falters on taking action on its own.
Of course, deploying the sounds of silence against a disturbed president was a one-off, if it was indeed a deliberate communications strategy.
Trudeau can't keep saying nothing when asked about a president who is just getting started on dividing his nation to conquer the electoral college.
But, for at least one day, Justin Trudeau managed to condemn without commentary, to convey disgust without decibels and to muffle any Trump backlash without saying a word. That made Tuesday's COVID-19 briefing something worth watching.
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