Latest news with #Frum
Winnipeg Free Press
24-05-2025
- Business
- Winnipeg Free Press
Canada needs new approach to meet new U.S. challenges: Frum
Canada needs a 'plan B' in the face of tariffs and political instability introduced by U.S. President Donald Trump, says writer and political commentator David Frum. Frum shared that message Friday at the Winnipeg Art Gallery, during an appearance presented by the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce and Business Council of Manitoba. Canadians have often faced challenges and difficulties in the U.S.-Canada relationship, Frum said, and there is 'a well-established playbook' as to how Canada meets these challenges: the prime minister and premiers work together with their allies at the state level in an attempt to show U.S. Congress and the president why the measures the U.S. are taking are not in the interests of the American people. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS Political commentator and Atlantic staff writer David Frum speaks during a Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce event Friday morning at the Winnipeg Art Gallery. Through a combination of 'mobilizing friends (and making) timely concessions,' said Frum, a staff writer at U.S. magazine The Atlantic, 'the trillion-dollar relationship flows along in relatively smooth waves.' Today, however, Canada faces a different situation, he added, likening current relations to a scene from the 1964 spy film Goldfinger in which the titular villain has a laser pointed at protagonist James Bond. 'Do you expect me to talk?' Bond asks. To which Auric Goldfinger responds: 'No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die.' 'It's kind of hard to negotiate that situation,' Frum said. 'That has been Canada's problem. Since this new (U.S.) administration has taken power, there are a series of complaints, there are a series of threats, there are a series of attacks, but there's no ask.' The old playbook no longer works, he added, so the country needs a 'plan B' in case it decides to abandon its current tactics. One thing Canada could do is introduce export tariffs on products the country sends south of the border that would be difficult for the U.S. to replace, including potash, electricity, wheat used to make everyday pasta products and wood pulp used to make one-third of the toilet paper in the U.S. With international student enrolment in danger at U.S. post-secondary institutions and scientific funding under threat, Frum recommends recruiting professors and researchers from America to move to Canada and continue their work here. 'Go poach their talent,' he said. 'The United States has been poaching Canadian talent for a long time. Turn the tables, this is the moment to do that.' Frum, who was a speechwriter for U.S. president George W. Bush in the early 2000s, went on to suggest Canada further develop its relationship with Mexico. While both countries have both been party to the former North American Free Trade Agreement and Canada-United-States-Mexico Agreement, it's always been the U.S. organizing these trilateral relationships, Frum said. 'Canada needs to develop its presence in Mexico City (and) find areas of commonality,' he said. 'You're in a trilateral relationship. It's a fact. Act on it and work on the last leg of that triangle in pursuit of a common goal.' While introducing his final suggestion, Frum noted when it comes to defence agreements between Canada and the U.S., 'the most important way Canada has contributed … is by the use of aerospace,' at times giving that aerospace away for free. If Trump's proposed 'Golden Dome' missile defence system becomes a reality, the U.S. should pay for whatever Canadian 'real estate' the system uses, Frum said. 'A lot of things that didn't have a price before should (have a) price now,' he said. 'And if this is a relationship based on transactions, the instinctive Canadian habit of trying to show itself as a good partner … may be a little bit out of date.' Frum later offered what he called a 'consoling thought.' People who grew up in North America after the Second World War have generally lived under safe and prosperous conditions their parents and grandparents fought for, he said. It's this generation's turn to do the same, the 64-year-old suggested. 'It's an awesome responsibility and kind of an inspiring one. So we have to do our part in the way that our parents and grandparents (did) theirs.' Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. While introducing Frum, Winnipeg chamber chairman Kevin Selch described the Toronto-born commentator as 'one of the most influential political analysts of our time' and someone who 'brings a rational conscience to the mainstream.' Global trade, national resilience and Canada's shifting relationship with the U.S. are topics that can feel 'abstract and even daunting,' Selch said later, but he encouraged attendees to be courageous. 'As we face the road ahead, I'd like to leave you with the message that we shouldn't fear change,' Selch said. 'We should expect it and when it comes we need to face it prepared together.' Around 150 people attended the event. Aaron EppReporter Aaron Epp reports on business for the Free Press. After freelancing for the paper for a decade, he joined the staff full-time in 2024. He was previously the associate editor at Canadian Mennonite. Read more about Aaron. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Yahoo
03-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump gets put on blast for historic gaffe that disrespects ‘greatest generation'
President Donald Trump waded into a historical minefield this week with a plan to rename a beloved holiday that rips a page from Russia's authoritarian playbook, according to published reports. In a post to his Truth Social site on Thursday, the Republican president proclaimed that hat he wants to rename Veterans Day to 'Victory Day for World War I' and wants to mark May 8 as 'Victory Day for World War II.' The problem? World War II only ended in Europe on May 8, 1945. The U.S. globe-spanning war didn't formally come to an end until Aug. 14, 1945, when Japan finally surrendered. 'Many of our allies and friends are celebrating May 8th as Victory Day, but we did more than any other Country, by far, in producing a victorious result on World War II. I am hereby renaming May 8th as Victory Day for World War II and November 11th as Victory Day for World War I,' Trump wrote on Truth Social. 'We won both Wars, nobody was close to us in terms of strength, bravery, or military brilliance, but we never celebrate anything — That's because we don't have leaders anymore, that know how to do so! We are going to start celebrating our victories again!" he added. Critics were quick to point out that marking the May 8 holiday would disregard the contributions of tens of thousands of the American 'Greatest Generation' who continued to fight and die in the Pacific against Japan. They also argued that eliminating the Veterans' Day holiday would disregard the contributions of American servicepeople who fought in the nation's other military conflicts, from the Korean War through the most recent wars in the Persian Gulf, Iraq and elsewhere. The Atlantic's David Frum noted that Trump is following Russia's practice in celebrating the end of the war on May 8. 'Nazi Germany surrendered in May 1945. For Americans, the Second World War would rage for three more months, until VJ Day in August. But for Russians and those influenced by them, 'Victory Day' falls in May. Trump follows the Russian practice, not the American,' Frum wrote in a post to X. Frum also noted that Trump's rhetoric on World War II 'mixes strangely' with his 'America First' movement. 'Trump's America-triumphalist version of WW2 mixes strangely with the fact that he named his own 'America First' movement after a movement led in 1940-41 by the Axis sympathizer, Charles Lindbergh,' he wrote in a separate post. Political commentator Keith Olbermann also weighed in. 'We won World War II on August 15, 1945 when the Japanese surrendered. Trump is a complete moron,' he wrote. If he carries through on the move, Trump would be "taking away the honor of the day from millions veterans,' podcaster Brian Tyler Cohen wrote on X. Strategist Alexander S. Vindman, a senior advisor at Vote Vets, blasted Trump for his decision and ripped him for reportedly asking thousands of soldiers to participate in a parade for the president's birthday. 'Trump is a [expletive] simpleton. He doesn't understand that tens of thousands of troops were killed and wounded between May and August of 1945, so May 8th as Victory Day for WWII makes no sense from as a starting point,' he wrote. 'Worse yet, changing Veterans Day to Victory Day for WWI ignores the sacrifice of those countless others who served. What really pisses me off is the military parade he's trying to get for his birthday. There should be mass resignations to protest this obscene vanity project that wastes precious resources and the time of our troops,' he added. Many users noted that only Congress can rename Veterans Day. 'Seriously? There are no limits. Only Congress can rename Veterans Day. Trump wants to rename Veterans Day to focus on military victories,' U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., wrote on X. Trump's 'dumb' attack on Harvard's tax-exempt status could be a problem for the IRS Lawsuit against Trump balloons in size as foreign students face rising risks Northeastern Univ. economist: Mass. lagged nation on GDP growth Trump's budget calls for $163B in cuts, hitting health care, education Mass. Sens. Warren, Markey call for probe of Trump's call to strip Harvard's tax-exemption Read the original article on MassLive.
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
David Frum Dunks On GOP's ‘Manly' Donald Trump Praise With Brutal ‘Psychosexual' Dig
David Frum joined the chorus of condemnation that is being leveled at Donald Trump over his Oval Office berating of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Frum, a onetime speechwriter for former President George W. Bush, slammed and ridiculed one way in which Republicans are sucking up to Trump over the fractious exchange. They 'keep saying 'He was so manly, he was such a boss,'' Frum noted to CNN's John Berman on Monday. 'And I think, you know what? I don't have time for your psychosexual anxieties,' Frum, now a staff writer at The Atlantic, continued. The comment caused Berman to raise his eyebrows. 'You may feel inadequate in your masculinity and are looking for some puffed up person on television to bully a valiant leader fighting for a valiant people,' Frum added. 'But, I think every true American watched that scene and felt shame.' Watch Frum's analysis here: Frum, a vocal and longtime critic of Trump, on Friday argued in a piece for The Atlantic that the 'ugly' truth had been revealed by Trump and his Vice President JD Vance, who also attacked Zelenskyy in the meeting. The duo showed 'to Americans and to America's allies their alignment with Russia, and their animosity toward Ukraine in general and its president in particular,' he The Wall Street Journal Thinks Trump's Tariffs Are 'The Dumbest' 'Brutality': France's PM Tears Into Trump Over Attack On Zelenskyy Chris Christie Leaves No Doubt: Trump 'Looks And Sounds Like An Ally Of Putin'
