Coping with President Trump isn’t easy, but our best ally is time

It does not help that Zelensky is engulfed in a corruption scandal involving his chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, who has resigned. Yermak was not only his government “enforcer” but also a top negotiator with the Russians. With any deal that decidedly favours Russia, Trump risks prompting the stigma of a sellout. If that were to happen, his influence on world affairs would be undermined. The Europeans know this, which is why they have discovered some spine enabling them to stand up to both Trump and Putin. Trump has leverage—more sanctions on Russia and more munitions for Ukraine—which he has been reluctant to use. That is primarily why the conflict that he had promised to end in 24 hours remains unresolved. Many observers contend that a capitulation to Russia on Ukraine would embolden China’s president Xi in his aspirations regarding Taiwan. Meanwhile, the U.S. president’s global tariff assault is hurting many countries, several of whom—the EU, Japan, and Korea—offered investment bribes to constrain the damage. Trump’s tariffs shattered multilateral trade principles that have generated economic benefits for WTO members for more than seven decades. But Trump convinced his MAGA followers that the U.S. has been “ripped off” by trade disciplines that the U.S. itself spearheaded under presidents from both parties. It is understandable that many Americans want the administration to avoid endless foreign entanglements and focus more on domestic concerns, such as affordability, a problem Trump’s tariffs are exacerbating. His ambivalent, often contradictory attitudes toward erstwhile allies feed MAGA’s “American First” dogma. It is true that Trump inherited a mess from his White House predecessor, Biden—9 percent inflation, stimulated by excessive wasteful spending on “will o the wisp” green projects, and a massive surge of undocumented migrants across the southern border. Trump deserves credit for fixing the chaos at the southern border and for countering woke measures about men in women’s sports and D.E.I. initiatives. But his tariffs are contributing to increased costs for kitchen table items, prompting the administration to abandon or lower some, e.g. on products like coffee and tomatoes, as well as on aluminum and steel, which U.S. manufacturers desperately need. Affordability has become the Democrats’ rallying cry for the congressional elections next year. It is what helped elect the social democrat, Zohran Mamdani, as mayor of New York. Trump labelled him as a “communist” but nonetheless had a cordial meeting with him in the White House. The administration believes the trillion-dollar investments cajoled from major trade partners will eventually boost the economy and offset the negative effects of tariffs. The question is whether it will assuage voters’ concerns before the 2026 elections. Trump’s petulant outbursts against Canada over the TV ad purchased by the Ontario government, quoting former President Reagan on his well-known dislike of tariffs, prompted a suspension of bilateral trade negotiations. The proposed 10 percent increase in tariffs has not yet been implemented, however. One suggestion to help get matters back on the rails would be for Canada to enlist support from Jared Kushner, who is now involved, along with Witkoff, on both the Gaza peace plan and the Russian-Ukraine package. Kushner helped Canada bring a rational conclusion to the NAFTA renegotiation and perhaps could help once again. Canada’s best ally is time. Trump’s irascible domestic and global antics are hugely destabilizing, but relations with the U.S. will never be the same, and it is prudent for Canada to diversify and bolster our economy’s competitiveness wherever possible. 2026 may bring an electoral setback for Republicans in Congress that will make Trump an even lamer duck than he would otherwise be for his final two years in office. But we should not buy TV ads to bolster that prospect.