Justin Trudeau can't run away from embarrassing himself
Justin Trudeau isn't the prime minister of Canada anymore. He's not a Liberal MP. He stayed out of the fray during last month's federal election. He's been under the radar for months, and is reportedly renting a home in Ottawa. Other than a brief excursion to a Canadian tyre store, which led him to take a predictable selfie, he's largely disappeared from public life.
Everything came to a crashing halt this week. Trudeau proved once again that he can't run away from embarrassing himself. Literally, in fact.
Trudeau was one of three former prime ministers who attended King Charles III's throne speech to open the new session of parliament. He chatted a fair bit with Stephen Harper. He sat within proximity of Kim Campbell. He brought his mother, Margaret, to hear the speech – which was a nice touch. The TV cameras then panned down to his shoes, only to discover he was wearing trainers.
You read this correctly. Trudeau's footwear was a pair of green Adidas sneakers. In the Senate of Canada. To hear a speech by King Charles to open a parliamentary session in the country Trudeau led for almost a decade.
Some people may not perceive this to be a big deal. To those individuals, I pose one simple question: 'Was anyone else in attendance doing this?' The answer is a resounding 'no,' and it shouldn't be difficult to figure out why.
This isn't the first time that Trudeau has embarrassed himself in this respect, either. Three older instances of Trudeau wearing blackface received domestic and international scorn and derision – and deservedly so. His obsession with colourful socks wasn't unique among world leaders, but he kept doing it inappropriately in the House of Commons and elsewhere.
Trudeau and his family also wore traditional outfits to India during a February 2018 trip. They were torn apart by the media. 'He wore an elaborate and heavily worked sherwani, more in tune with what a bridegroom would wear...in a Bollywood film,' the BBC's Ayeshea Perera amusingly wrote. The Canadian publication Maclean's called him 'The Mr. Dressup prime minister,' using the moniker of the late children's entertainer, Ernie Coombs, who wore various costumes plucked from his tickle trunk.
Maclean's also included photos of Trudeau in other ridiculous costumes. This ranged from a Superman outfit worn inside the House of Commons on Hallowe'en to another inappropriate traditional outfit worn during the Chinese New Year.
With respect to King Charles's speech, why would Trudeau do something so disrespectful during this important moment in Canadian history? Was it yet another desperate plea for media attention? Was he trolling his haters, as the kids might say?
While there were probably elements of this in his thinking, the answer is quite simple: Trudeau doesn't give a tinker's dam about tradition and decorum in politics. He may be a former head of government, but his attitude and outlook on life often resemble the lowest common denominator. And that's why most Canadians are glad he's gone.
Michael Taube was a speechwriter for former Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper
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