GIESBRECHT: With Trump, it's so much more than the tariffs

A second American Revolution is taking place to the south of us, where newly elected President Donald Trump is aggressively implementing the campaign promises he made to the American electorate. That he is determined to be a true leader, in a time when a real leader is needed, is becoming clear to all. While it is too soon to say if this revolution will end successfully, with the birth of a revitalized republic, or more like the French Revolution that followed with blood running in the streets, it is clear that a major realignment is underway.But while most Canadian writers and pundits are content to find clever new ways to insult Donald Trump, and declare their newfound patriotism caused by his tariff threats, few have seemed to notice the profound changes that Trump is introducing. The fact is that tariffs on Canada are a tiny part of what is going on.Within the United States, the elimination of DEI, by itself, would be an enormous change. DEI, under the Biden regime, has been a divisive, debilitating, and even dangerous policy. By restoring meritocracy as national policy, America takes a very big step forward.And ending DEI is only one of many equally momentous changes Trump is “flooding the zone” with — like the rat-a-tat-tat of a machine gun. Idiocies, like forcing women to compete against men in sports competitions, or child castration and mutilation in the name of gender ideology, have - mercifully — been thrown out the window. DOGE is also proving to be a game changer. Under the direction of industrialist and visionary, Elon Musk, it is causing panic among deep state bureaucrats, who are horrified that their years spent hiding money trails were all for nothing. Musk’s small army of brainy tech nerds are revealing years of shocking spending by people who often appear to have had little regard for the wellbeing, or the wishes, of the American taxpayer.Internationally, Trump has accomplished in his first few weeks in office more than the Biden administration accomplished in four years. The Israel/Hamas ceasefire put Hamas’s feet to the fire. Trump is telling them that the time for playing games is over.What Trump will do on the other serious foreign policy issues — Russia, Iran and China — remains to be seen. But it should be clear to even the thickest observer that he means to be a leader of consequence. He has had four years in the political wilderness to hone his skills, and figure out the mistakes he made in his first term.So, why are most Canadian mainstream journalists and pundits still stuck on calling him names, rather than trying to rationally analyze what he is doing, and what his plans might be? With the exception of a small minority, like Conrad Black, most seem content to ignore intelligent analysis by sticking to their lazy line that Trump is a “fool”, “imbecile” or “maniac” when it should be clear to by now to even his most ardent critics that he is none of those things.Trump cares not a whit what journalists call him, especially those who aren’t even American. In fact, he thrives on that kind of reporting. His followers see it, correctly, as evidence that his policies must be working. He call it “fake news”. The fact that most Americans voted for him make the agitated anti-Trumpers largely irrelevant.So, how should Canada deal with the Trump Revolution?One Canadian political leader who seems to have figured it out is Alberta’s Premier Danielle Smith. Instead of following the frantic policies of most of the other premiers, and our own prime minister — namely threatening retaliation and waving the flag — Smith suggests quiet diplomacy. She appears to have a better understanding of what Trump is all about. No, he is not the impulsive fool, or imbecile, that most Canadian pundits think he is. But he is fairly predictable.In fact, if you want to understand a bit of what Trump is all about why not read his book. He tells you in “The Art Of The Deal” Smith thinks a deal can be made with Trump. She and the other premiers met in Washington with American officials on Feb 13, 2025 to hammer out a deal before Trump’s threatened tariffs come into effect. She is confident that calm, tough, bargaining is the way to deal with Trump.Because Smith understands that Trump is primarily a deal maker. In fact, he is a very successful deal maker. He managed to turn the relatively modest inheritance his father left him into a fortune. He did this by clever, ruthless bargaining, hiring only the most capable people, and relying on his own judgment..He combined his business skills with the communication skills he acquired as a television star, both on The Apprentice, and in many other media enterprises. And he is using his business experience, and those same communication skills now. Trump also knows that he has lots of time to change his act to later become his allies’ friend. He is going through his “mean” phase now, as part of his bargaining strategy. Danielle Smith - unique among Canada’s political leaders — seems to understand him. Her advice: “Don’t poke the bear.” Smith, and her associate, businessman, Kevin O’Leary understand that what Trump is doing at this stage is engaging in his specialty — negotiating.But she also states the obvious: “We have to have an election.”She is just a premier. Only a prime minister with a new mandate from Canadians can negotiate for the nation.Smith’s observation is just common sense. There is simply too much water under the bridge between our outgoing prime minister and Donald Trump for anything but interim arrangements to be made. A new prime minister, with a new government, and a fresh mandate, must take place before real negotiations can take place.Until that happens, Canadians should consider heeding Smith’s advice. Quiet diplomacy, as opposed to booing the American anthem, and frantic threats of retaliation — or truly loony suggestions, like jumping into bed with China, or joining the EU — should be our course of action. And yes, we should have our best people negotiate hard behind the scenes to bring about the best result for Canada.Remember Simon Reisman? He was one of Canada’s lead negotiators when Prime Minister Brian Mulroney negotiated our first, very successful free trade agreement with President Ronald Reagan.Reisman waved no flags, he used no insults, and he certainly never booed the American anthem. Instead, he set to work, and competently — and sometimes forcefully — made the case for Canada. The results speak for themselves. Hundreds of billions of dollars, millions of jobs, and an increased standard of living for every Canadian for decades.That’s what Danielle Smith is advocating.Canada is a tiny player in the revolution that is taking place to the south of us. We have to face the fact that Trump’s “America First” campaign promise will force us to make painful changes — some of which are long overdue. We should not let opportunistic politicians push us towards unwise displays of “patriotism“, like disrespecting our American neighbours, or yelling obscenities at Donald Trump, (and by implication the majority of Americans who elected him).We should follow Premier Danielle Smith’s advice: keep our heads, and carefully navigate our way to calmer waters.“Poking the bear” while all of these profound changes are playing out is not in our best interests.Brian Giesbrecht, retired judge, is a Senior Fellow at the Frontier Centre for Public Policy.

GIESBRECHT: With Trump, it's so much more than the tariffs

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