Holding the cards

It's beem 18 months since I first saw this great Dave Whamond cartoon.

At that time, when Trump talked about how Canada "didn't have the cards", defying him felt sort of like whistling past the graveyard - we hated him but we didn't know what would happen to us.

But now, Canada is more confident. We know what we're doing, we have a leader who keeps calm and carries on, and we can't be intimidated anymore.

So when I heard Trump say again on Friday that Canada didn't have the cards, I just thought "Wrong!" and changed the channel.

But now that I have listened to it again, it struck me how scared Trump really is.

Trump: "Canada is working very hard to make a deal with us, and I hate to say this, but we have all the cards. We have all the cards, just like I told Zelenskyy, we have all the cards."

- Scott Robertson

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Look who blinked first. www.cbc.ca/news/politic...

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— Andrew Kurjata (@akurjata.ca) October 23, 2026 at 7:40 PM

TACO indeed:

TACO Tuesday comes early. He's terrified. www.youtube.com/shorts/NDTKa...

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— Cbaboween (@cbab.bsky.social) October 23, 2026 at 11:33 PM

Meanwhile, Carney continues travelling across the country and around the world making trade deals:

PM Carney corrects reporter on her incorrect facts. Is it me or is the media a direct threat to facts and to our democracy. Why do they keep doing this. PM Carney: Canada will never be the 51st state.

- #Francesk🇨🇦

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"Collective resilience" - I like that term

"Our goal is not self-sufficiency—it is collective resilience. And that's why Canada is building deeper partnerships with reliable partners that create new opportunities for us both," says PM Mark Carney in Ankara, announcing a new strategic partnership with Turkey. #cdnpoli

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— CPAC TV (@cpac.ca) October 22, 2026 at 9:16 AM

Signs of the Apocalypse - a regular round-up of the crazy stuff happening down south
America is now getting some actual news about what happened to its Middle East bases, and its terrible

Omg...this is horrific. “So Much Worse Than People Realize”: Never-Before-Seen Images Reveal Damage at U.S. Bases as Troops Describe Being Abandoned open.substack.com/pub/meidasto...

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— Jennifer Shin - WTAF (@jennifershin.bsky.social) October 22, 2026 at 12:22 PM

The corruption in the Trump administration is never-ending:

Fucking treason The Trump gang is selling out America for money

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— Pat Bagley (@bagleycartoons.bsky.social) October 23, 2026 at 7:26 PM

Turns out Kushner's phone was hacked

This is one of the most holy sh*t stories I’ve ever read in my life. www.vanityfair.com/story/jared-...

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— Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes.bsky.social) October 22, 2026 at 3:15 PM

And Kushner throws his father-in-law Trump under the bus:

This is 👀 “Kushner’s counsel, however, said Kushner did not make any agreements or arrangements with leaders or officials in foreign countries that were not agreed to by the President of the United States and in the best interests of the United States.”

— Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes.bsky.social) October 22, 2026 at 3:24 PM

Today the Trump administration actually tried to give Melania credit for a ceasefire around a besieged Ukrainian town of Oleshky- of course, it was actually the Pope who did it a week ago

Sounds like Melania is trying to take credit for something the Pope has been working on for weeks. www.rawstory.com/pope-melania/

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— Khashoggi's Ghost (@urocklive1.bsky.social) October 23, 2026 at 1:48 PM

Trump claims Melania is "becoming the next Eleanor Roosevelt" and then pivots to mocking trans weightlifters

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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) October 22, 2026 at 6:45 PM

Finally, I wonder if Musk realizes how he has undermined his own businesses by playing politics for Trump?

💥 #ONEV1 #Pinks 🌸 #Voices4Victory

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— 🦋 C.G., PhD 🐸 (🪖"Prima" AKA "Battle" to One)🌻 (@tcrg2012.bsky.social) October 23, 2026 at 5:27 PM

Poland’s Foreign Ministry Sikorski not only reminds Elon Musk that the USA haven’t been paying a cent to Ukraine in almost two years and in fact even benefited from the arms sales, but also schooled him that he is only damaging his brands when meddling in foreign countries.

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— (((Tendar))) (@tendar.bsky.social) October 23, 2026 at 1:55 PM

Canada will never have anything more to do with Musk

The PM is taking the gloves off. The OO and Pentagon will know exactly who he’s referring to. And he’s also sending the msg on F35’s (and other US toys) without actually having a face to face with the US. Good for you, PMMC. CTV News is spreading some story that there's a remote chance Canada & the US will hit an agreement on tariffs prior to the midterms. I honestly, positively and absolutely do not see that happening.

- JBO

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