The New York Times columnist Gail Collins condemned Donald Trump’s aspirations to become president in a “very negative column” she wrote in 2011. She also called him “the man who can make Bill O’Reilly look like the most sensible guy in the room.” Then, she went after Trump’s “birther” movement, but that was not the end of the story.
Earlier, Collins called him in print a “financially embattled thousandaire.” He sent her a copy of her own column. He had circled her picture and had written “The Face of a Dog!” across it, The Huffington Post reported.
In a letter to her editor Trump wrote:
‘I have great respect for Ms. Collins in that she has survived so long with so little talent.’
That was the end of his wittiness, though.
It appeared that Trump has been sharing little quips with world leaders since he took office. According to Axios, he has carried on with his bizarre little note writing.
The U.S. president took a Sharpie and jotted off a note to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at least twice, Axios reported. It was so weird that the Canadian ambassador checked with the White House to make certain the note was not a joke.
Trump had torn off the cover of a May 1-7, 2017 Bloomberg Businessweek magazine featuring Trudeau. The headline was “The Anti-Trump.” The U.S. president wrote on it with a Sharpie “something to the effect of:
‘Looking good! Hope it’s not true!’
Trudeau sent POTUS a printout from the Office of the United States Trade Representative’s website with a smiley face next to the amount of trade surplus Canada had with America. The Canadian leader was accurate, Trump was not.
Some of the people in the White House staff thought the note was not appropriate. Then, they decided:
‘…it was done in good fun and would be interpreted as positive outreach.’
On December 8, 2017, Trump lied to a Pensacola, Florida rally crowd. He said that the U.S. did have a trade deficit with Canada. He mailed Trudeau a document that allegedly said the same thing. Then, the U.S. president put his Sharpie pen to paper and wrote on the document two words:
‘Not good!’
The American commander-in-chief only dealt with the U.S.’s deficit:
‘(ignored) the trade of goods and ignored its surplus in services.’
Had the U.S. president combined the two figures, there would have been a U.S. surplus. A couple of weeks later, the Canadian prime minister sent Trump a handwritten note on his official Canadian stationery. It started off pleasant enough but went downhill from there:
‘Dear Donald. It’s been a busy year! Enjoy the Christmas holidays — you deserve it. One thing. You gave a great speech in Pensacola, but you were slightly off on the balance of trade with Canada. USTR says so! All the best for 2018, Justin.’
The second page included a printout of Canada’s informational page from the Office of the United States Trade Representative website. Trudeau underlined the part that showed:
‘…the U.S. goods and services trade surplus with Canada was $12.5 billion in 2016.’
Then, Trudeau circled the “$12.5 billion” figure and drew a little smiley face next to it.
Our president refers to Trudeau as a “wise guy” in private. He thinks the Canadian prime minister, 47, is a cocky young guy and resents his comments. Trump liked the viral photo of himself sitting with his arms crossed and world leaders standing over him. He also left early to snub Trudeau, because he claimed Trudeau had disrespected him.
When Axios contacted Canada, they basically said “No comment,” but:
‘On your second point (the Bloomberg cover), no comment, but we don’t deny it.’
Featured image is a screenshot via YouTube.
The Mueller Report Adventures: In Bite-Sizes on this Facebook page. These quick, two-minute reads interpret the report in normal English for busy people. Mueller Bite-Sizes uncovers what is essentially a compelling spy mystery. Interestingly enough, Mueller Bite-Sizes can be read in any order.
