In short
The MeidasTouch Podcast - Episode Summary
Episode Title
Furious Canada Humiliates Trump’s Despicable Ambassador
Hosts
- Ben Meiselas (top lawyer)
- Brett Meiselas (two-time Emmy-winning video editor)
- Jordy Meiselas (award-winning advertising executive)
Episode Description
In this episode, Ben Meiselas discusses the recent public humiliation of Pete Hoekstra, the U.S. Ambassador to Canada, by Canadian officials. The episode highlights the strained relations between Canada and the U.S. under the Trump administration and the implications of Hoekstra's remarks at a manufacturing conference.
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Key Highlights
- Hoekstra's Controversial Remarks
- Hoekstra publicly questioned the anger from Canadians regarding U.S. claims that Canada could be the "51st state."
- He criticized the Canadian government's advertising campaign against the U.S. President, indicating a lack of understanding of Canadian sentiment.
- Canada's Response
- Discussion on how Hoekstra's comments have further aggravated U.S.-Canada relations.
- Canadians are reportedly feeling uncomfortable traveling to the U.S. due to the current political climate.
- Statistics showed a notable decline in Canadian travelers to the U.S., highlighting the fallout from Trump’s tariffs and policies.
- Prime Minister Carney's Address
- Canadian Prime Minister Carney addressed the changing dynamics of Canada-U.S. relations.
- Stressed the need for Canada to reduce reliance on the U.S. market and invest heavily in its own economy.
- Outlined a strategy to build a resilient economy, aiming for $1 trillion in investments over the next five years.
- Economic Implications
- A significant economic cost to Canada was mentioned, estimating a loss of 1.8% of GDP due to U.S. tariffs, affecting key industries like steel and aluminum.
- Discussion on the need for Canada to strengthen its trade relationships globally, including with countries in Asia.
- Broader Themes
- The episode emphasizes a shift in Canadian public sentiment towards the U.S. from ally to adversary, partly fueled by the actions of the Trump administration and ambassadors like Hoekstra.
- The Meiselas brothers blend humor and critical commentary to underline the seriousness of political and diplomatic failures.
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Key Takeaways
- Public Relations Issues: Hoekstra's comments reflect a misunderstanding of Canadian values and a miscalculation of the importance of U.S.-Canada relations.
- Changing Dynamics: There is a marked shift in how Canadians view their relationship with the U.S., driven by political policies and public sentiment.
- Strategic Economic Planning: Canada is actively seeking to diversify its economic dependencies and strengthen its global trade relationships.
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Call to Action
- Listeners are encouraged to subscribe to the MeidasTouch Network and engage with the content for more insights into political discourse and its implications on democracy.
Additional Resources
- For further discussions, listeners can explore other podcasts within the MeidasTouch Network:
- [MeidasTouch](https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/meidastouch-podcast)
- [Legal AF](https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/legal-af)
- [MissTrial](https://meidasnews.com/tag/miss-trial)
- And more.
---
This episode serves as a poignant reminder of the fragile nature of international relations and the importance of diplomatic respect.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:00Canada is furious and it is getting underneath the skin of the Trump regime. Trump's United States ambassador to Canada, Pete Hoekstra. This dude is like crumbling before our eyes. He spoke at a manufacturing conference in Canada and he's like, all right, I'm just going to get myself into trouble. You know, I don't understand why you all get mad in Canada about when we want to conquer you and call you the 51st state. What are you getting mad about? And then he starts to like yell at Canada and he points his finger and he starts wagging it at Canada. I don't know, Hoekstra. I don't think Canada is going to like this here.
0:41Play this clip. It will restart. The question is when. Neither of us know. It seems like the, you know, I've got suggestions that I think can get it restarted, but it's not going to be easy. Okay.
0:57Here, I'll just get myself in trouble. No, no. But let me tell you, I mean, I go around the country and people people will say Pete you just don't understand why we're so mad about the 51st state it's kind of like yeah you're right I don't okay well then I read you know all I can say is to my Canadian friends is you don't understand because I read the media and I listen to other discussions you know the president got mad about an ad well I've been in this business for a while and I know people who've been in it longer than I have, and I asked them, okay, the ad that was run by the government of Canada, oh, that's not the government of Canada, it's Ontario.
1:40It's kind of like, I'm sorry, we don't go through that slicing and dicing. It's kind of like, no one can ever remember a like circumstance where a foreign government came into the United States And, you know, they were talking about$54 million of ads, American dollars. So real money. Just a joke. Just a joke. Okay, lighten up. That's the quote they're going to remember. That's going to get me into trouble. But, you know, targeting the president of the United States and his policies 10 days before an election, and a couple of weeks before a Supreme Court case would be heard in front of the Supreme Court.
2:38I'm sorry, that does not happen in the United States of America. You do not come into America and start running political ads, government-funded political ads, and expect that there will be no concede. It's the government coming in again in control. that there will be no consequences or reaction from the United States of America in the Trump administration. It has, as far as we can tell, it has never happened in America before. And if Canada wants to insert itself and create a new precedent that you're going to participate in our electoral politics through advertising targeting the President of the United States and his policies.
3:30I just, I would, I would, I would suggest that you seriously consider whether that is the best way to try to achieve your objectives in the United States of America. By the way, this guy may be the worst ambassador to Canada, like quite literally ever. What a clown, What a buffoon this guy is. And then he's like, and I don't even know why. I think the Canadian people like China better than the United States. I wonder why, Hoekstra, because of people like you and Trump and the whole regime. Here, play this clip. I don't find it in the media. I'm not sure I always see it in the political world. The public, I think China is now more viewed more favorably than America.
4:26It's kind of like, okay, all right. Wow. And you want to know what's happening this Thanksgiving weekend? You want to know if people are traveling from Canada to the United States, or if this boycott now is crippling the United States because of the stupid actions of people like Hoekstra and Trump and this idiotic regime that has been so utterly disrespectful to Canada? let's find out what if Canadians are traveling to the United States. Hint, they're not. Here play this clip. Let's bring in CTV's John Venevali-Rao in Toronto with more on that. Hi, John. Sandy, here at Pearson in Toronto, it's a busy time for travel to the United States with U.S.
5:08Thanksgiving on Thursday. But this year, the travel numbers are likely to be down as many Canadians continue to choose to avoid going to the U.S. and the state of Canada-U.S. relations being talked about this past weekend in Halifax at an international security conference. Several American senators calling Trump's tariffs a mistake and noting how many Canadians are responding negatively to them on a personal level. But the deeper problem is the cultural break. The idea that Canadians now don't think of Americans as their friends and their neighbors, but as an adversary. One of the things that I think is very important about us being here, bipartisan delegation is to make it very clear to our Canadian friends that we're your friends and we're going to do everything we can to put things back to the wonderful relationship that we've always had with Canada.
5:59How many travelers say they are feeling uncomfortable about going to the States this winter? With the latest numbers from Statscan showing in October, return trips by car from the U.S. were down 30 percent compared to a year ago, and by air they fell 24 percent. That trend expected to continue. Yeah, if we can stay clear, we certainly avoid it. If there is a possibility of some resumption of normalcy, I think it's going to take a really long time. I mean, some of the cuts have been pretty deep. And the Canadians say their top reason for avoiding the U.S. is a resolve to stand up for Canada. Still, some of those U.S.
6:34senators remain optimistic the damage to relations can eventually be fixed, with one of them, an independent, calling the tariffs ridiculous. Sandy. Okay, John, thank you. All right, now let's hear from Prime Minister Carney's speech right before Thanksgiving, once again reiterating the relationship with the United States is over. Here, play this clip. We know the world's changing. We know that this decades-long process of our ever closer economic relationship between Canada and the United States has ended. And as a Consequence of that, many of our strengths have become our vulnerabilities, particularly in those industries that are most tightly integrated with the United States.
7:19Headline last year, 75 % of our exports went to the U.S. 90%, 90 % of our lumber exports went to the U.S. 90 % of our aluminum exports went to the United States. 90 % of our steel exports went there, all bound for a single market that has changed. Overall, for the Canadian economy, we estimate that U.S. tariffs and the uncertainty that they're creating will cost Canadians around 1.8 % of GDP. That's about$50 billion lost from our economy or the equivalent of$1 ,300 for every Canadian. And this is happening fast. It's a rupture, which means that our economic strategy needs to change dramatically and rapidly.
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9:21This is Indicloud's biggest sale of the year and it lasts all month long because peace of mind should not expire in half a day. That's Indicloud.co, code MIDAS, M-E-I-D-A-S, 40 % off, free shipping, and a quieter break reserved for our listeners. Seriously, unsubscribe from One News Alert. Pick up bounces instead. As always, please enjoy responsibly. And thanks to Indicloud for sponsoring today's episode. And then right here, we hear more from Prime Minister Carney right here, talking about how they're focusing on investing in Canada first and building out Canada. Play this clip. The core of the strategy in budget 2025 is to unleash$1 trillion in total investments in Canada over the course of the next five years.
10:11That alone will increase our GDP by over 3.5%, or$3 ,500 for every Canadian worker, more than twice what's being taken from us. Now, to help get there, we must protect our workers and our industries who are most exposed to U.S. tariffs. That means in steel, aluminum, auto, and lumber sectors. help them bridge to the future. More from Prime Minister Carney right here, talking about the actual real trade deals, free trade deals that he's been doing in Asia and throughout the rest of the world. While Trump's like 18 trillion, 21 trillion, Canada's actually really doing deals. Here, play this clip.
11:00You've said that you want to get the best deal for Canada and that you're not rushing to any sort of deal. Do you get the sense that other countries regret the deals that they've made with President Trump? That's a question for them. It's look, I think this is what I'll say about other countries. Every country wants to do a deal with Canada. Or if they have a relationship with Canada, they want to deepen that relationship with Canada. And this is a real opportunity for us. Of course, we want to further improve the existing trading relationship with the United States. We stand ready to re-engage when they are.
11:41But at the same time, we're going to do a few other things. First and foremost, build this economy. To be masters in our home, and invest to make sure our strategic industries are there when we need them. And then secondly, to develop those commercial relationships abroad. And I think you're seeing, given the scale of agreements that we're concluding and launching and the time frame. And I'll make one last point and then pass to your colleague, if I may, which is, you know, when we're announcing these free trade deals, for example, with India, the start of the intention for negotiations or with Thailand or the Philippines, as two recent, three recent examples.
12:24the intention is to conclude these in a year. Okay, this is not let's have a five to eight year long process. Let's focus, let's take the opportunity, let's diversify, let's build out. And that itself will start to seal. We have to conclude these obviously, but we want to have a final point on it if I can. Sorry, I think I've already been on my final point. But this is one of the many reasons why we want to make sure that we maintain the capacity in our steel industry, in our lumber industry, in our aluminum industry, in other strategic industries, and the workers as much as possible in their roles and their jobs, because demand is coming.
13:12We're creating that demand. And that's a big part of what this announcement today is about. And more from Prime Minister Carney right here. Let us play it. You've announced tariffs today on the U.S. for the first time, or they'll affect the U.S., for the first time since you pulled back retaliatory tariffs. How do you think this will affect the prospects of a trade deal with the U.S.? And are you worried about retaliation? So I think the first thing to say is that what we have done is to put in place adjustments to remissions and tariffs on certain steel derivative products, as you know. And so these are products that, derivatives is a fancy name for products that are substantially comprised of steel.
14:04and it is a much more targeted level of that steel than, for example, the United States has done with their steel derivatives, which is quite broad application. The U.S. looks to calculate the proportions in steel. That approach is global. It's global. It's not targeted at the U.S. Okay, so that's the first thing that's very important. So it's a global approach, which is creating some space for Canadian steel producers to fill in. First point. Second point, With respect to the changes we're making in tariffs, so for non-free trade countries going from 50 % to 20%, the sort of tariff rate quota, this is Bloomberg so I can talk like that, right?
14:45And for free trade countries going from 100 % to 75%, the U.S. is not included in that. So there's no change in the tariff for the U.S. or for Mexico in that regard. So I think that answers the question. So on ending the remission, I'm wondering why you chose January 31st. And is this an attempt to add pressure to the U.S.? No, no. Or is it an acknowledgement that you're not going to get a deal? I'm going to reinforce. I'm going to reinforce. It is a global approach. It is a global approach. And what it is, January 31st, is a judgment based on our working with companies that use these products and the time in which it can take Canadian companies to ramp up and fulfill that demand.
15:33Powerful, powerful stuff right there. Let me know what you all think and hit subscribe. Let's get to 6 million subscribers. Thanks for watching.
From the publisher
MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas reports on Canada humiliating Trump’s US Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra in front of the entire world.
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Legal AF: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/legal-af
MissTrial: https://meidasnews.com/tag/miss-trial
The PoliticsGirl Podcast: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-politicsgirl-podcast
The Influence Continuum: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-influence-continuum-with-dr-steven-hassan
Mea Culpa with Michael Cohen: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/mea-culpa-with-michael-cohen
The Weekend Show: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-weekend-show
Burn the Boats: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/burn-the-boats
Majority 54: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/majority-54
Political Beatdown: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/political-beatdown
On Democracy with FP Wellman: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/on-democracy-with-fpwellman
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