Nanaimo man uses TikTok to invite U.S. visitors north of the border
A call for Americans who are fed-up with tariff threats and rehtoric about making Canada a 51st state to visit Nanaimo is gaining traction online. As Liam Britten reports, the city and the local man behind the call are hoping for a big turnout.
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Winnipeg Free Press
4 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
As Trump goes to G7 summit, other world leaders aim to show they're not intimidated
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has long bet that he can scare allies into submission — a gamble that is increasingly being tested ahead of the Group of Seven summit beginning Monday in Canada. He's threatened stiff tariffs in the belief that other nations would crumple. He's mused about taking over Canada and Greenland. He's suggested he will not honor NATO's obligations to defend partners under attack. And he's used Oval Office meetings to try to intimidate the leaders of Ukraine and South Africa. But many world leaders see fewer reasons to be cowed by Trump, even as they recognize the risks if he followed through on his threats. They believe he will ultimately back down — since many of his plans could inflict harm on the U.S. — or that he can simply be charmed and flattered into cooperating. 'Many leaders still seem intimidated by Trump, but increasingly they are catching on to his pattern of bullying,' said Jeremy Shapiro, research director at the European Council on Foreign Relations. 'In places as diverse as Canada, Iran, China and the EU, we are seeing increasing signs that leaders now recognize that Trump is afraid of anything resembling a fair fight. And so they are increasingly willing to stand up to him.' In the 22 instances in which Trump has publicly threatened military action since his first term, the U.S. only used force twice, according to a May analysis by Shapiro. World leaders feel comfortable standing up to Trump Ahead of the G7 summit, there are already signs of subtle pushback against Trump from fellow leaders in the group. French President Emanuel Macron planned to visit Greenland over the weekend in a show of European solidarity. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has said the U.S. is no longer the 'predominant' force in the world after Trump's tariffs created fissures in a decades-long partnership between the U.S. and its northern neighbor. 'We stood shoulder to shoulder with the Americans throughout the Cold War and in the decades that followed, as the United States played a predominant role on the world stage,' Carney said this past week in French. 'Today, that predominance is a thing of the past.' The new prime minister added that with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the U.S. became the global hegemon, a position of authority undermined by Trump's transactional nature that puts little emphasis on defending democratic values or the rule of law. 'Now the United States is beginning to monetize its hegemony: charging for access to its markets and reducing its relative contributions to our collective security,' Carney said. Israel's attack on Iran has added a new wrinkle to the global picture as the summit leaders gather to tackle some of the world's thorniest problems A senior Canadian official said it was decided early on that the G7 won't be issuing a joint communiqué as it has at past summits — an indication of how hard it can be to get Trump on the same page with other world leaders. The White House said individual leader statements will be issued on the issues being discussed. Speaking last month at a conference in Singapore, Macron called France a 'friend and an ally of the United States' but pushed back against Trump's desire to dominate what other countries do. Macron said efforts to force other nations to choose between the U.S. and China would lead to the breakdown of the global order put in place after World War II. 'We want to cooperate, but we do not want to be instructed on a daily basis what is allowed, what is not allowed, and how our life will change because of the decision of a single person,' Macron said. Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba pushed back against Trump's agenda of levying higher tariffs on imported goods, arguing it would hurt economic growth. The Japanese leader specifically called Trump ahead of the summit to confirm their plans to talk on the sidelines, which is a greater focus for Japan than the summit itself. 'I called him as I also wanted to congratulate his birthday, though one day earlier,' Ishiba said. Trump cares about being tough, but G7 is a chance to reset relations Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., the ranking member of the Foreign Relations Committee, said the summit was an opportunity for Trump to 'mend' relationships with other countries so China would be unable to exploit differences among the G7. She said other foreign leaders are 'not intimidated' by Trump's actions, which could be driving them away from tighter commitments with the U.S. 'The conversations that I've had with those leaders suggest that they think that the partnership with the United States has been really important, but they also understand that there are other opportunities,' Shaheen said. The White House did not respond to emailed questions for this story. Many leaders feel more confident that they can sidestep Trump's threats Having originally made his reputation in real estate and hospitality, Trump has taken kindly to certain foreign visitors, such as U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Starmer has sought to keep Trump in line with Europe in supporting Ukraine and NATO instead of brokering any truces that would favor Russia. He has echoed the president's language about NATO members spending more on defense. But in his Oval Office visit, Starmer also pleased Trump by delivering an invite for a state visit from King Charles III. The German government said it, too, wanted to send a public signal of unity, saying that while Trump's recent meeting with Merz at the White House went harmoniously, the next test is how the relationship plays out in a team setting. There will also be other world leaders outside of the G7 nations attending the summit in mountainous Kananaskis, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whom Trump dressed down in the Oval Office. Italy's Meloni has positioned herself as a 'bridge' between the Trump administration and the rest of Europe. But Italy's strong support of Ukraine and Trump's threatened tariffs on European goods have put Meloni, the only European leader to attend Trump's inauguration, in a difficult position. Mark Sobel, U.S. chair of the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum, an independent think tank, said Trump's 'trade policies, backing for right wing European movements, seeming preference for dealing with authoritarians and many of his other actions are alienating our G7 allies,' even if the U.S. president is correct that Europe needs to do more on defense. But even as other G7 leaders defuse any public disputes with Trump, the U.S. president's vision for the world remains largely incompatible with they want. 'In short, behind the curtains, and notwithstanding whatever theater, the Kananaskis summit will highlight a more fragmented G7 and an adrift global economy,' Sobel said. ___ AP reporters Rob Gillies in Toronto, Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo, Sylvie Corbet in Paris, Jill Lawless in London, Geir Moulson in Berlin and Nicole Winfield in Rome contributed to this report.
Winnipeg Free Press
5 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Protests, parades and Pride: One week in June 2025 is drawing stark American fault lines
WASHINGTON (AP) — On the first weekend: a vision of the nation built upon inclusivity and the tenets of liberalism — a conception of country that incorporates generations of fights for equity, for compassion, for expanding what it means to be an American. On the second weekend, in the same town: a public show of strength and nationalism constructed on a foundation of military might, law and order, a tour de force of force. And on the days in between: a city 2,000 miles from the capital locked in pitched battles over the use — abuse, many contend — of federal power and military authority to root out, detain and oust people who the current administration says do not belong. Today's United States — its possibility, its strength, its divisiveness, its polarization and fragmentation — is encapsulated in a single week in June 2025, its triumphs and frictions on vivid display. As events both planned and chaotically spontaneous play out, many Americans are frantically and sometimes furiously pondering assorted iterations of two questions: What is this country right now? And what should it be? Pride, protests and parades Consider two quotes from recent days from two very different Americans. The first came last weekend, during World Pride in Washington, when a 58-year-old gay man from Philadelphia named David Begler summed up what many were messaging in the days leading up to it after months of Donald Trump's increasing attempts to target the LGBTQ community: 'I want us to send a message to the White House to focus on uplifting each other instead of dividing.' The second came days ahead of the military parade planned Saturday for the U.S. Army's 250th anniversary, from the mouth of the president on whose 79th birthday it will be held: 'If there's any protester that wants to come out, they will be met with very big force,' Donald Trump said. 'I haven't even heard about a protest, but you know, this is people that hate our country, but they will be met with very heavy force.' Among the competing visions of America in 2025: the desire to protest and seek a redress of grievances against the government vs. the desire for control, order — and a respect for the government and for authority. The volatile combination of demonstrations and the U.S. military is a potent one, with its most recent roots in the protest movement of the 1960s against the Vietnam War. A young generation that would later be known as baby boomers regularly squared off against police and sometimes the military over U.S. involvement in what was framed as a war against communism in Southeast Asia. Historians give those protesters a fair bit of the credit for that war ultimately ending in 1975. President Jimmy Carter ultimately pardoned more than 200,000 people who had dodged the draft for that conflict. Then, as now, many in the establishment criticized protesters bitterly, saying they were undermining a nation to which they should be grateful. Questions of loyalty and betrayal were thrown around. The role of the military in quelling civilian protests was bitterly contested, particularly after Ohio National Guardsmen opened fire and killed four students during antiwar protests in May 1970 at Kent State University. There are echoes of that this week, not only in Los Angeles but now in Texas, where Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the deployment of 5,000 state National Guard troops ahead of the 'No Kings Day of Defiance' against the Trump administration's ongoing immigration raids. And as protesters in Los Angeles taunt the military and say guardsmen should be 'ashamed' to face off against what they call a just cause, it's easy to wonder: How can patriotism and protest coexist? Washington at the epicenter Democracy has always been messy and resistant to consensus. That's part of why the national slogan of the United States is 'e pluribus unum' — 'out of many, one.' And Washington, D.C., as the nation's capital, has long been the place where the many have come to make themselves known as part of the one — and to be noticed. It was where the 'Bonus Army' of World War I veterans marched in 1932 to demand their promised postwar payments and be heard in a demonstration that ended violently. It was where the first National Boy Scout Jamboree was held on the National Mall in 1937. It was where the 'March on Washington,' a centerpiece of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, ended with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s renowned 'I Have a Dream' speech. It was where, in 1995, the 'Million Man March' was held to address concerns of the American Black community, and where hundreds of thousands of women came to Washington largely in protest of Trump, just a day after his first inauguration. It is also the place where Americans remember, where the memorials to World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War sit. It is where the country erected stone shrines in various shapes and sizes to the presidents it most admired — Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt. It is the site of museums containing some of the most distilled expressions of culture — from the Holocaust Museum to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum to the National Museum of African American History. Is it so hard to believe, then, that two events as opposite as World Pride and a military parade unfold here, within blocks of each other, within a week's time? At a politically fractious moment when some families can hardly break bread without political arguments erupting over Trump, Gaza and Israel, immigration and LGBTQ rights, isn't it possible that the weird and downright uncomfortable juxtaposition of these two starkly different events might be the most American thing of all? Walt Whitman, one of the most famous poets in American history, had this to say about the the diversity of America when he wrote 'I Hear America Singing' to underscore that its citizens all contribute to the nation's song: 'I am large. I contain multitudes.' And in one week in June, at a time when the fate of the United States is being discussed in every direction we turn, the capital of Whitman's nation has become a showcase in displaying those messy democratic multitudes to the world. For better or for worse. ___ Ted Anthony, director of new storytelling and newsroom innovation at The Associated Press, has been writing about American culture since 1990.
Winnipeg Free Press
12 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
The Army is set to celebrate 250 years with a parade that coincides with Trump's birthday
WASHINGTON (AP) — The massive military parade that President Donald Trump has long wanted is set to step off from the Lincoln Memorial on Saturday evening, with tanks, bands and thousands of troops. And the biggest question marks are whether it will be overshadowed or delayed by either the weather in Washington or planned protests elsewhere around the country. Falling on Trump's 79th birthday, the parade was added just a few weeks ago to the Army's long-planned 250th anniversary celebration. It has triggered criticism for its price tag of up to $45 million and the possibility that the lumbering tanks could tear up city streets. The Army has taken a variety of steps to protect the streets, including laying metal plates down along the route. The daylong display of America's Army comes as Trump has shown his willingness to use his fighting forces in ways other U.S. presidents have typically avoided, inviting an array of lawsuits and accusations that he is politicizing the military. He has deployed the California National Guard and U.S. Marines to provide security during Los Angeles protests tied to immigration raids. It marks the first time in 60 years that a president activated the National Guard on federal orders inside a state without a governor's permission, and California Gov. Gavin Newsom has filed a lawsuit to stop the deployments. Earlier in the week, Trump raised eyebrows during a speech at Fort Bragg when members of the 82nd Airborne Division were directed to stand behind Trump and they booed and cheered during his incendiary remarks, including condemnation of his predecessor, Joe Biden. There also was a pop-up 'Make America Great Again' merchandise stand nearby selling souvenirs to troops in uniform. The Defense Department has a doctrine that prohibits troops from participating in political activity while in uniform. Members of Congress and military leaders have expressed concerns about the political displays during the speech at Fort Bragg. Trump so far has shrugged off concerns about the parade cost, the rainy forecast and the potential for protests. 'What a day it will be!!!' Trump wrote on his social media site, adding later that he hoped the weather would cooperate but that if it doesn't, 'that brings you good luck. That's OK too. Doesn't matter. Doesn't affect the tanks at all. Doesn't affect the soldiers. They're used to it. They're tough. Smart.' As for the protests, he warned that 'they will be met with very big force.' The 'No Kings' rallies planned in hundreds of cities nationwide are meant to counter what organizers say are Trump's plans to feed his ego on his 79th birthday and Flag Day. No protests are scheduled to take place in Washington, D.C., however, and officials have said they so far have no indication of any security threat. About 6 in 10 Americans say Saturday's parade is 'not a good use' of government money, including the vast majority of people, 78%, who neither approve nor disapprove of the parade overall, according to a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. The parade will wind down Constitution Avenue, which is already lined with security fencing and barriers. Army helicopters and aircraft will fly above, and the march will be capped off by a parachute jump, a concert featuring 'God Bless the U.S.A.' singer Lee Greenwood and fireworks. With rain expected, there is a chance the parade could be interrupted by thunderstorms. White House spokesperson Anna Kelly has said the march will go on rain or shine. But it could be delayed if there is lightning, with authorities quick to empty the expansive National Mall if it happens during major events. The parade fulfills Trump's expressed desire for a big parade that he tried to get done in his first presidential term after seeing one in France on Bastille Day in 2017. Trump said that after watching the two-hour procession along the famed Champs-Élysées, he wanted an even grander one on Pennsylvania Avenue. The Army expects as many as 200,000 people could attend the festival and parade. The festival will begin around 9:30 a.m. EDT and feature fitness competitions, demonstrations, equipment displays, music and a cake-cutting ceremony. The parade is set to begin at 6:30 p.m. EDT, but parts of it — including the horse-drawn caissons and other units — start at the Pentagon, head over a bridge and meet up with some of the heavier tanks and equipment. Officials did not want the more-than-60-ton M1A1 Abrams tanks and Stryker vehicles crossing the bridge. Timed down to the minute, the march will be divided into sections by history — with equipment and troops in full dress from each period. It will include a total of 6,169 soldiers and 128 Army tanks, armored personnel carriers and artillery, while 62 aircraft fly overhead. At the end of the parade, Trump will swear in 250 new or reenlisting troops, and the Army's Golden Knights parachute team will jump onto the Mall. That will be followed by the concert and fireworks. ____ Associated Press writers Michelle L. Price and Tara Copp contributed to this report.
