How do you negotiate trade with someone who can’t decide between genocide and diplomacy?
asserted
who → negotiate → genocide
In recent weeks, U.S. President Donald Trump has suggested unilaterally ending the Iran war absent a nuclear deal or the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz; threatened to bomb Oman, which had been mediating talks; vowed “economic D-Day” on Iran’s trading partners; declared he would win the war outright; proposed renaming it the Trump Strait; said the war would end after November’s midterm elections; mused at the United Nations on whether to annihilate Iran or make a deal; promised not to bomb Iran before the midterms; said he might bomb Iran before the midterms; rejected a ceasefire proposal; bragged that he didn’t even want a deal, in spite of Iran’s pleading; said anyone leaking or publishing details of his Iran plans should be shot; teased both short, intensive strikes and a large-scale operation against critical infrastructure.
uncertain
anyone → suggest → infrastructure
Meanwhile, Trump’s chief advisers have admitted the war could go on for years.
uncertain
war → admit → years
Watching Trump’s frenetic flailing on Iran makes a strange parallel to watching his attempts to overhaul North American free trade.
asserted
Watching → watch → trade
U.S. Senator Susan Collins said she has ‘secured additional tariff exemptions’ for products that are crucial for Maine agricultural and seaweed
U.S. Senator Susan Collins said she has ‘secured additional tariff exemptions’ for products that are crucial for Maine agricultural and seaweed
Journalists are thrown into a tizzy whenever Trump mentions making an agreement with Canada or Mexico.
asserted
Trump → say → Canada
Just this fall, his administration imposed an import ban on various Canadian goods, suggested a deal was coming “fairly soon,” insisted there was “no urgency,” then said it would take just “weeks” for Carney to come crawling back to plead for deal — only to turn around and blame Canada for playing hardball.
uncertain
Carney → impose → hardball
Then Trump took the stage at cultish rallies to bloviate about cutting us an imagined US$90 billion cheque that we spent on “a health-care system and other things that they shouldn’t be having” and insisting Canada is “willing to give us anything.”
asserted
Canada → take → anything
This cycle keeps repeating itself.
asserted
cycle → keep → itself
Our friends in Mexico are getting the same treatment.
asserted
friends → get → treatment
The football has been set up, then yanked away, again and again.
asserted
football → set → ?
Always happy to play the hits, Washington has recently gone back to accusing us of nefarious meddling, such as dispatching Canadians to vote illegally for the Democratic Party.
asserted
Washington → play → Party
The Trump administration decried what it called Canadian “plans to influence American politics in official documents and public appearances.”
asserted
it → decry → documents
Trump followed this up by congratulating British Columbia’s new premier (“Conservatives are moving strong in Canada!”) and sharing an article declaring the Parti Québécois win a “blow to Carney.”
asserted
win → follow → Carney
He also endorsed far-right candidates Flavio Bolsonaro and Benjamin Netanyahu on the eve of elections in Brazil and Israel, respectively.
asserted
He → endorse → Brazil
And if the Republicans lose the midterms, said Trump’s man in Ottawa, Canada could be blamed — so it had better sign a deal now.
uncertain
it → lose → deal
Canadians, in my experience, don’t need to be reminded where we’re at.
asserted
we → need → where
A renewed trade deal with the U.S. is still a laudable goal, but it simply is not an option right now.
asserted
it → renew → U.S.
If we see a deal on the horizon, we’ll know it’s only a mirage.
asserted
it → see → horizon
It is pointless to listen to what Trump says, because Trump is a consummate liar.
asserted
Trump → listen → what
The accusation is a naked attempt to sow distrust ahead of the coming midterms with Trump on track for a drubbing at the ballot box.
asserted
Trump → sow → box
The accusation is a naked attempt to sow distrust ahead of the coming midterms with Trump on track for a drubbing at the ballot box.
asserted
Trump → sow → box
The president does occasionally follow through on his unhinged statements — and when he does, it is almost always in service of more war, more conflict and further destruction of the rules-based world order.
asserted
it → follow → order
Canadians are learning to quiet the part of our brain that reacts badly to the flood of crazed stimuli coming from the White House.
asserted
that → learn → House
The noise is likely to get louder in the coming days, and in the chaos sure to follow the midterms on Tuesday.
asserted
noise → get → Tuesday
He initially cheered on Trump’s war against Iran, recall, believing it to be a coherent and targeted operation.
asserted
it → cheer → Iran
And he got awfully close to signing a fundamentally bad deal that his negotiators had painstakingly drawn up with Trump’s apparatchiks.
asserted
negotiators → get → apparatchiks
Recent months have focused the mind, I think.
asserted
I → focus → mind
We’ve all become (justifiably) more cynical of the fascist U.S. president, less likely to jump at his Truth Social posts, less susceptible to his firehose of nonsense and more determined to ignore him and carry on.
asserted
We → become → him
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Carney was insouciant about the prospect of further negotiations.
asserted
Carney → speak → negotiations
“If those deals present themselves, we will pursue them,” he said.
asserted
he → present → them
“But we’re not at that position right now.
asserted
we → ’re → position
The Aporia
