The Washington Post, it seems, has had enough of the American liberal media fawning over Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, publishing three articles questioning his leadership in a five-day span.
“Although Trudeau has proved to be a powerful public relations coup for my country, the political erotica now streaming from the southern border is embarrassing, shallow and largely misses the mark” wrote Jen Gerson, an Alberta-based journalist in The Washington Post Monday. Gerson feels that type of “political journalism only makes it harder to hold the man to account.”
Gerson held back very few punches in her critique of Trudeau, hitting him from both the left and the right.
Gerson called the Canadian universal health care system a “mishmash by province,” and lamented the “strains of the system” that “are evident in months- to years-long waits for low-priority treatments.” Despite the average $5,000 the Canadian government spends on each citizen’s health care each year, “[w]ealthy Canadians can, and do, travel to the United States to receive these treatments.”
Gerson recognizes the “progressive benefits and left-leaning” policies that the country has to offer, like “universal health care, maternity leave and strict gun control,” but attributes them to efforts that “predate Trudeau by generations,” calling his record “pretty spotty.”
In an article titled “The World Needs To Stop Mindlessly Fawning Over Justin Trudeau,” author J.J. McCullough describes a “scandal currently consuming Trudeau’s prime ministership.”
In early July, Trudeau decided to settle a civil lawsuit with a Canadian-born and ex-Guantanamo Bay detainee Omar Khadr for $8 million. Khadr pleaded guilty, along with other terror related charges, to killing U.S. Army Sgt. Christopher Speer in a plea deal with with the U.S.
“The move was extraordinarily unpopular,” McCullough wrote. “Seventy-one percent of Canadians opposed it, including 61 percent of the backers of Trudeau’s Liberal Party. Whatever his talents as clickbait, a strong case can be made that Trudeau is not very good at the governing side of his job.”
“America’s Justin Trudeau Obsession Is Getting Old,” yet another article was headlined Wednesday, this one by the Post’s Ishaan Tharoor. Tharoor himself once affectionately considered Trudeau the “anti-Trump.” Now, he’s actually comparing him to Donald Trump. “But not unlike Trump, Trudeau used to be the kid in the room. He, too, is a scion” and “has long been bashed for his dilettantish air and his penchant for showmanship over substance” writes Tharoor.
Even some on Twitter noticed the Post’s recent trend away from Trudeau, who has been nothing short of an American media darling.
In February, Tharoor lauded Trudeau’s “progressive, inclusive message” that “could not be more different than that of Trump.” Tharoor then compiled an entire list contrasting him with Trump, displaying just how tolerant and progressive he is compared to his American counterpart.
“Trudeau is bilingual and gives equal place to both French and English in his public utterances” wrote Tharoor. He then slammed President Trump for saying that Americans should be speaking english.
Last week, Rolling Stone magazine’s cover fawned “Justin Trudeau: The North Star,” posing the question in the subheading, “Is He The Free World’s Best Hope?” The article lauded his “feminist bona fides,” saying “women and minorities make up half of his cabinet.”
“His dark hair is a color found in nature” and he has three “photogenic children, still not old enough to warm his seat at next week’s G-20 summit or be involved in an espionage scandal,” Rolling Stone’s Stephen Rodrick drooled.
Vogue gushed that when Trudeau makes an appearance, “crowds whoosh with excitement” and “it’s easy to see why. Strikingly young and wavy-haired, the new prime minister is dashing.”
Trudeau’s popularity even inspired a Buzzfeed article titled, “Literally Just 27 Really Hot Photos Of Justin Trudeau.”
Business Insider called him a “Disney prince” and a “runway model.”
CNN even acknowledges his “warm applause from” the American media in an article calling him the “anti-Trump” and Canada’s “progressive, diverse face.”
“I cringe at the coverage in America media” Jen Gerson told The Daily Caller News Foundation. According to her, his image in the states is no accident, but a political calculation. “Trudeau uses foreign media strategically to present a positive image of Canada and himself back to Canadians.”
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