We’re not quite sure why U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson made the trip to Ottawa this week to commiserate with members of the Trudeau government.
Tillerson may have had the best of intentions in trying to strengthen the ties between the U.S. and Canada, but it’s become painfully obvious that his boss doesn’t share that view.
In fact, Tillerson’s comments on two key issues underscore how out of touch he seems to be with the bombast that emanates from the White House these days.
One is the now controversial NAFTA negotiation.
Tillerson and Canada’s International Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland, agree that we need to strike a NAFTA deal that is mutually beneficial to both countries.
That laudable goal is totally contrary to the hard-line “America First” mindset that Trump has taken on the issue.
Then, there’s the troubling issue of North Korea.
Tillerson and Freeland have agreed to co-host a summit meeting early next year to find a diplomatic solution to the North Korean threat, yet his boss, Donald Trump, has reiterated that the time for talking is long past.
The reality is that Tillerson is a political “dead man walking” because he and Trump don’t see eye to eye on so many key issues.
It appears certain that Tillerson and his conciliatory attitude will soon be gone from the Trump administration and that’s bad news for Canada.
Bill Kelly is the host of Bill Kelly Show on AM 900 CHML.