produced a read-out about the conversation with Trump.
In his substack column today, Paul Krugman described How Canada Became An Enemy - It’s not about trade, it’s about ego
And they mostly agreed that US treasury secretary Bessent got the jump on us when he ran to Fox News after the call to talk about how Carney had walked back on his Davos speech.
Hmmm.
Three things -- first, Trump called Carney, not the other way around.
Second, isn't it insulting that the Conservatives always take whatever Trump says as gospel while disrespecting everything Carney says.
Third, I would think Carney would not want to get into a "he said-he said" pissing contest with Trump or with any of his people about supposedly apologizing for what he said in Davos.
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Hmmm.
Three things -- first, Trump called Carney, not the other way around.
Second, isn't it insulting that the Conservatives always take whatever Trump says as gospel while disrespecting everything Carney says.
Third, I would think Carney would not want to get into a "he said-he said" pissing contest with Trump or with any of his people about supposedly apologizing for what he said in Davos.
But Carney told reporters "To be absolutely clear, and I said this to the president. I meant what I said in Davos".
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Treasury Secretary Bessent claimed Prime Minister Carney walked back his Davos speech. Carney called "bullshit." www.ctvnews.ca/politics/art...
— Bon Hanson (@bonhanson.bsky.social) January 27, 2026 at 12:52 PM
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Even Bob Fife says the Trump administration lies about everything:"I said this to the president: I meant what I said in Davos. It was clear it was a broader set of issues that Canada was the first country to understand—the change in U.S. trade policy that he had initiated—and we're responding to that," says PM Carney re: call with U.S. President Trump. #cdnpoli
— CPAC TV (@cpac.ca) January 27, 2026 at 8:54 AM
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Tonight Reuters is reporting that Carney will visit India in six weeks to sign deals on uranium, energy, minerals and technologies. The EU signed its own deals with India last week.
In another Power and Politics interview yesterday, David Cochrane talked to Canada's former ambassador to the US, David MacNaughton.
TLDW:...the standing ovation probably drove [Trump] crazy....No matter what happens, we will still have well over 50 per cent of our exports to the United States so we still need to have a very substantial and constructive relationship...the President does respect the Prime Minister... private negotiations over the next several months will allow the President to declare victory that we are stepping up to defend North America....as long as someone finds somewhere to put Peter Navarro away for a few months, there will be progress.In spite of the Opposition demands that Carney announce every thrust and parry, MacNaughton says he thinks CUSMA negotiations should be done privately, with Canada also reaching out to make sure American companies are supporting continuing the agreement.
In his substack column today, Paul Krugman described How Canada Became An Enemy - It’s not about trade, it’s about ego
.... if the sudden tariff threat against Canada isn’t about sincere concern for Canadian welfare, and isn’t about protecting the United States from a flood of Chinese goods, what is it about?
To some extent it’s about national power. By making a trade deal with China, Canada is somewhat reducing its dependence on the United States. And Trump doesn’t want that.
More importantly, this is about Trump’s ego. Although he will never admit it, Trump is obviously aware that the speech Mark Carney, Canada’s Prime Minister, gave at Davos was hailed around the world for its courage and clarity, while his own rant was widely seen as evidence of his cognitive decline. So Carney must be humiliated.
One tell about Trump’s real motivation: In his post threatening prohibitive tariffs, he called Canada’s leader “Governor Carney” — surely a reference to Trump’s delusions about making Canada the 51st state, not a reference to Carney’s former career as a central banker. Gratuitously insulting foreign heads of state isn’t something you do if you’re trying to achieve policy goals, but it is what you do if your whole purpose in life is to dominate and demean everyone around you.
So, is Trump actually going to follow through on his threat? I’ve argued that people invoke TACO — Trump always chickens out — far too much. All too often he doesn’t chicken out. However, given how devastating an all-out trade war with Canada would be for some U.S. industries, TACO may be a good bet in this case. Furthermore, Trump is getting crazier by the day, promising vengeance on so many people and institutions that it’s unlikely that he or anyone in his administration can even keep track of his threats. Yesterday he threatened new tariffs on South Korea, another erstwhile ally.
One last point: If Trump does impose punitive tariffs on Canada, he will presumably do so by invoking the International Economic Emergency Powers Act, which means that his actions will clearly be illegal. But the Supreme Court keeps enabling Trump by delaying a ruling on the legality of his tariffs.
There’s no plausible explanation of this failure to act other than sheer cowardice on the part of right-wing justices. They surely know that Trump is exceeding his lawful power and that they will disgrace themselves if they say otherwise, but they are afraid to defy him.
As I said over the weekend, Trump’s cowardly enablers are largely responsible for the abyss America has plunged into.
And a couple of side notes too:
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I think Jason Kenney is running for Poilievre's job:
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Finally, an Elbows Up moment for Britain, too:
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