I can't recount how many times I have run into this over the past year.It is, in fact, the sheer panic shown by television commentators, political commentators, celebrities, talk show hosts and of course, many of my friends, who tend to be liberal.What I am talking about, is "L'effet Trump."The Trump Effect.It's the curse of Donald Trump. No matter what he says or does, it will be magnified a hundred times, vilified a hundred times, mocked a hundred times and compared to Hitler, etc.That's right my friends, the sky is falling. And it's not just Chicken Little, it is everyone and his dog.Now let me just say I am no fan of The Donald. I'm not. I'm cheering for Nikki Haley, though it may be a lost hope. President Biden? Forget it ... he should be on a beach in Florida, with a sunny hat, big baggy shorts and a magnetic detector.Time to call it a day, Joe!Anyway, let's take a look at some of those truths and half truths and downright lies. Logical fallacies, if you will.1. If Trump gets back in, he will pull out of NATO. And if he pulls out of NATO, it will be wrecked, our allies around the world will suffer “potential disaster,” and “above all” Ukraine will be left to the mercy of Vladimir Putin.OK, so, did Trump say he would pull out?While he was president, Trump did not cut Ukraine and did not wreck NATO. In fact, NATO expanded under Trump — Montenegro joined in 2017 and North Macedonia joined in 2020. Trump did and does demand that NATO members (such as Canada) contribute more to their own defence — something that U.S. policymakers and legislators have done for the last 50 years or more. 2. If Trump gets into power, he will stop supporting Ukraine and Russia will win the war. He will hand Ukraine to his best bud Putin on a silver platter, who will then invade Poland or the Baltic states.First of all, relax, have a coffee, or make some tea. Preferably, English Breakfast.Trump does question the wisdom of providing aid to Ukraine — which is fighting to hold on to its eastern provinces and to take back Crimea — when America is experiencing a broken southern border and faces the existential threat of Communist China. Respected national security experts such as Frank Gaffney, Elbridge Colby, and others — as opposed to a neoconservative speechwriter — agree with Trump on that issue.Trump has said he wants to end the war. How he will do that is another thing, but some insiders think that if Trump does get in, Putin will immediately call for a ceasefire. So to me, the Orange Haired one looks good.3. If Trump gets in, it will end in World War Three.Ladies and gents, I don't know if you have noticed, but we are now firmly entrenched in an October crisis.Ukraine is under siege, Gaza is under siege, Syria is under siege, the Houthis in Yemen are attacking commercial ships in the Gulf, China is sabre rattling and could attack Taiwan any day, Venezuela is threatening British Guiana and that nutbar in North Korea is upping the ante ... and, nobody is watching Afghanistan.There is actually more, including 35 armed conflicts in Africa, but you get the picture.While Trump is definitely no rocket scientist, he is feared abroad. He represents, what some call, "The Madman Theory."The latter is a political theory commonly associated with the foreign policy of US President Richard Nixon and his administration, who tried to make the leaders of hostile Communist Bloc nations think Nixon was irrational and volatile so that they would avoid provoking the US in fear of an unpredictable response.Trump is no Nixon, but he is unpredictable. So keep investing and enjoying life, we'll be OK.4. If Trump gets in, the economy will crash, amid the chaos of his revenge administration.Let's take a look at Trump's track record, not prognosticate what he may or may not do.The economy, was relatively good under Trump. It did fairly well. I did well on my mutuals, so did the IRAs of Americans.Who knows, maybe a pipeline will get built?Can't be worse than Sleepy Joe's economic record, can it?5. If Trump gets back in, he will finish building the dreaded wall, between the US and Mexico.Yes, he will, and that's OK. Somebody has to do something. And, in hindsight, he was right! Look at the disaster it is today and how the Democrats have totally buggered it.Don't listen to the ladies on The View. America needs a wall.6. If Trump gets back into power, it will be the end of Democracy. Folks, the US Capitol was attacked, people died, but nobody, absolutely nobody would help Trump negate the election results.People like Gen. Milley and VP Pence, just said no.It will all be fine, Democracy will survive. If it lasted this long, it will last another 100 years.7. If Trump gets in, the world will end.Five will get you ten, that the world won't end, LOL! When people say this, I tune them out, because it doesn't have any merit, and it's a total exaggeration. They are just beating a dead horse. So suck it up, princess, it will all be fine. Weird maybe, really weird, but it will be fine.8. If Trump gets in, he will seek revenge and DC streets will flow with the blood of his victims. OK, I extemporized a bit, but you get the idea.Look, what we will get, if he gets in, is pretty much what we saw before. He will hire and fire, which he can do and he may go after a few people.As I recall, Robert F. Kennedy went after union leader Jimmy Hoffa. He created a platoon of prosecutors to find something on Jimmy and they did.But hey, if they were to do that to you or me, they would find something on us too. And don't deny it. The other thing, the job of a US president is so involved with work, so challenging, I strongly doubt he will have time to write his own Liam Neeson revenge movie.Again, the sky will not fall, democracy will survive and will be taken in new directions. Some good, some bad.He will be busy fulfilling some of his promises, which are considerable.9. If Trump is re-elected, Canada will pay a high price. Our trade relationships will be thrown into chaos, our defensive alliances may be torn apart and our mostly productive friendship with the oldest democracy in the world will be replaced by a wary co-existence with its newest autocracy.Duh! I hate to tell you this, I really do.Other than our trade relationships, which are still strong, and will stay strong, everything else has already happened.Ever wonder why we got left out of AUKUS, the UK, Aussie, US military contract and technology sharing deal?Our standing in the world, is now laughable. In a recent interview, John Manley, a former deputy prime minister, said Canada is good at pointing fingers at other countries, but Canada under Trudeau is MIA.“You know, we were a useful country,” Manley, now 74 and chairman of CIBC, told host Colin Robertson, a former career diplomat, vice president and fellow at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute.“Where Canada was most effective was when we found ways to be useful. We could talk to everybody,” he added, noting that Canada played a middle power role on the world stage.“I feel that we have somehow lost our bearings. We weren’t often the chair of some of these international organizations or the secretary general, but we were often the rapporteur or the second. We played key roles."“We seem to have decided that we would rather carry a soapbox with us and get up on it and tell people how they need to do things differently, rather than finding ways to insinuate ourselves into these many complex and difficult situations in order to exert influence at a level that’s maybe lower profile but probably a lot more effective,” he added.Canada will survive. I'm actually more worried about Canada surviving Justin Trudeau and his evil flying monkeys, than I am about the Trumpian one.And, 10. If Trump is re-elected, he will release classified UFO documents.I hope he does, but I strongly doubt it.And do enjoy that calming tea or coffee, and that Arrowroot cookie.— with files from the National Post
I can't recount how many times I have run into this over the past year.It is, in fact, the sheer panic shown by television commentators, political commentators, celebrities, talk show hosts and of course, many of my friends, who tend to be liberal.What I am talking about, is "L'effet Trump."The Trump Effect.It's the curse of Donald Trump. No matter what he says or does, it will be magnified a hundred times, vilified a hundred times, mocked a hundred times and compared to Hitler, etc.That's right my friends, the sky is falling. And it's not just Chicken Little, it is everyone and his dog.Now let me just say I am no fan of The Donald. I'm not. I'm cheering for Nikki Haley, though it may be a lost hope. President Biden? Forget it ... he should be on a beach in Florida, with a sunny hat, big baggy shorts and a magnetic detector.Time to call it a day, Joe!Anyway, let's take a look at some of those truths and half truths and downright lies. Logical fallacies, if you will.1. If Trump gets back in, he will pull out of NATO. And if he pulls out of NATO, it will be wrecked, our allies around the world will suffer “potential disaster,” and “above all” Ukraine will be left to the mercy of Vladimir Putin.OK, so, did Trump say he would pull out?While he was president, Trump did not cut Ukraine and did not wreck NATO. In fact, NATO expanded under Trump — Montenegro joined in 2017 and North Macedonia joined in 2020. Trump did and does demand that NATO members (such as Canada) contribute more to their own defence — something that U.S. policymakers and legislators have done for the last 50 years or more. 2. If Trump gets into power, he will stop supporting Ukraine and Russia will win the war. He will hand Ukraine to his best bud Putin on a silver platter, who will then invade Poland or the Baltic states.First of all, relax, have a coffee, or make some tea. Preferably, English Breakfast.Trump does question the wisdom of providing aid to Ukraine — which is fighting to hold on to its eastern provinces and to take back Crimea — when America is experiencing a broken southern border and faces the existential threat of Communist China. Respected national security experts such as Frank Gaffney, Elbridge Colby, and others — as opposed to a neoconservative speechwriter — agree with Trump on that issue.Trump has said he wants to end the war. How he will do that is another thing, but some insiders think that if Trump does get in, Putin will immediately call for a ceasefire. So to me, the Orange Haired one looks good.3. If Trump gets in, it will end in World War Three.Ladies and gents, I don't know if you have noticed, but we are now firmly entrenched in an October crisis.Ukraine is under siege, Gaza is under siege, Syria is under siege, the Houthis in Yemen are attacking commercial ships in the Gulf, China is sabre rattling and could attack Taiwan any day, Venezuela is threatening British Guiana and that nutbar in North Korea is upping the ante ... and, nobody is watching Afghanistan.There is actually more, including 35 armed conflicts in Africa, but you get the picture.While Trump is definitely no rocket scientist, he is feared abroad. He represents, what some call, "The Madman Theory."The latter is a political theory commonly associated with the foreign policy of US President Richard Nixon and his administration, who tried to make the leaders of hostile Communist Bloc nations think Nixon was irrational and volatile so that they would avoid provoking the US in fear of an unpredictable response.Trump is no Nixon, but he is unpredictable. So keep investing and enjoying life, we'll be OK.4. If Trump gets in, the economy will crash, amid the chaos of his revenge administration.Let's take a look at Trump's track record, not prognosticate what he may or may not do.The economy, was relatively good under Trump. It did fairly well. I did well on my mutuals, so did the IRAs of Americans.Who knows, maybe a pipeline will get built?Can't be worse than Sleepy Joe's economic record, can it?5. If Trump gets back in, he will finish building the dreaded wall, between the US and Mexico.Yes, he will, and that's OK. Somebody has to do something. And, in hindsight, he was right! Look at the disaster it is today and how the Democrats have totally buggered it.Don't listen to the ladies on The View. America needs a wall.6. If Trump gets back into power, it will be the end of Democracy. Folks, the US Capitol was attacked, people died, but nobody, absolutely nobody would help Trump negate the election results.People like Gen. Milley and VP Pence, just said no.It will all be fine, Democracy will survive. If it lasted this long, it will last another 100 years.7. If Trump gets in, the world will end.Five will get you ten, that the world won't end, LOL! When people say this, I tune them out, because it doesn't have any merit, and it's a total exaggeration. They are just beating a dead horse. So suck it up, princess, it will all be fine. Weird maybe, really weird, but it will be fine.8. If Trump gets in, he will seek revenge and DC streets will flow with the blood of his victims. OK, I extemporized a bit, but you get the idea.Look, what we will get, if he gets in, is pretty much what we saw before. He will hire and fire, which he can do and he may go after a few people.As I recall, Robert F. Kennedy went after union leader Jimmy Hoffa. He created a platoon of prosecutors to find something on Jimmy and they did.But hey, if they were to do that to you or me, they would find something on us too. And don't deny it. The other thing, the job of a US president is so involved with work, so challenging, I strongly doubt he will have time to write his own Liam Neeson revenge movie.Again, the sky will not fall, democracy will survive and will be taken in new directions. Some good, some bad.He will be busy fulfilling some of his promises, which are considerable.9. If Trump is re-elected, Canada will pay a high price. Our trade relationships will be thrown into chaos, our defensive alliances may be torn apart and our mostly productive friendship with the oldest democracy in the world will be replaced by a wary co-existence with its newest autocracy.Duh! I hate to tell you this, I really do.Other than our trade relationships, which are still strong, and will stay strong, everything else has already happened.Ever wonder why we got left out of AUKUS, the UK, Aussie, US military contract and technology sharing deal?Our standing in the world, is now laughable. In a recent interview, John Manley, a former deputy prime minister, said Canada is good at pointing fingers at other countries, but Canada under Trudeau is MIA.“You know, we were a useful country,” Manley, now 74 and chairman of CIBC, told host Colin Robertson, a former career diplomat, vice president and fellow at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute.“Where Canada was most effective was when we found ways to be useful. We could talk to everybody,” he added, noting that Canada played a middle power role on the world stage.“I feel that we have somehow lost our bearings. We weren’t often the chair of some of these international organizations or the secretary general, but we were often the rapporteur or the second. We played key roles."“We seem to have decided that we would rather carry a soapbox with us and get up on it and tell people how they need to do things differently, rather than finding ways to insinuate ourselves into these many complex and difficult situations in order to exert influence at a level that’s maybe lower profile but probably a lot more effective,” he added.Canada will survive. I'm actually more worried about Canada surviving Justin Trudeau and his evil flying monkeys, than I am about the Trumpian one.And, 10. If Trump is re-elected, he will release classified UFO documents.I hope he does, but I strongly doubt it.And do enjoy that calming tea or coffee, and that Arrowroot cookie.— with files from the National Post
