Latest tiff with Trump likely won’t hurt Canada, political expert says of Trudeau comments

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Will Justin Trudeau’s latest tiff with Donald Trump have any consequences for Canada?

A political expert believes the recent gaffe made by the prime minister at an event with NATO leaders in London likely won’t have any long-lasting impacts.

“Trump has his Twitter tirades, they last a day or two and then they are forgotten while he tirades against someone else,” Hamish Telford, an associate professor of political science at the University of the Fraser Valley, said. “That’s the pattern we’ve seen.

“Donald Trump doesn’t have a long memory — he’s always focused on the next attack,” Telford added.

READ MORE: Video showing Trudeau seemingly talking candidly about Trump goes viral

He also said there’s absolutely no need for Trudeau to apologize.

“Bullies don’t like weakness and I think we’ve seen, over the last three years, that Trump is nothing other than a big bully, so I think that Trudeau just has to stand his ground here and know that he’s got solid allies in Britain and France and the other NATO countries,” Telford explained. “Trudeau’s in good company here. I wouldn’t expect any sort of consequences other than a few more Twitter tirades, perhaps surrogates on Fox News denouncing Trudeau for a day.”

Some have wondered if Trudeau’s recent gaffe would hurt trade negotiations, however, Telford said Trump’s anger with the Canadian leader in the past didn’t do anything to that effect.

“The new NAFTA agreement, Trump and Trudeau got together and Trump was all praise.”

A video at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday night caught Trudeau standing with other world leaders, including British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron, talking about Trump behind his back.

READ MORE: ‘Two-faced’ Trudeau: Trump fires back after video shows PM talking candidly about U.S. president

Telford noted Johnson, who is seen laughing at Trudeau’s comments, is one of Trump’s closest allies.

The morning after, Trump called Trudeau “two-faced,” in reaction to the video. The prime minister addressed the controversy shortly after, but did not apologize.

-With files from Hana Mae Nassar, The Canadian Press, and The Associated Press

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