Today in policy tantrums:

Arm chair: check. Psychological
opinions I'm wildly unqualified
to hold: double check. Let's go.

Larry Kudlow, the President's economic advisor went absolutely bananas on-huh? Yes, apparently the President has an economic advisor. What's that? Yeah, I thought all the President's policies were rage-based too. You'd think an advisor would be someone offering sage council and an objective opinion, but Kudlow's also kind of unhinged, so I sure they make a great team. And I know I shouldn't be making arm chair psychology calls based on watching like, one CNN interview, but then again, I totally should. I mean, what's the internet for if not baseless opinions strongly held and vigorously defended?

Nothing, that's what. Anyway, State of the Union host Jake Tapper asked Kudlow why the President called Trudeau a liar-which he did, and we'll get to that, but here's Kudlow's not-at-all childish response:

"Well he holds a press conference and he says the U.S. is insulting, he said that Canada has to stand up for itself, he said that we are the problem with tariffs. What the in factual, the non factual part of this was that they have enormous tariffs."

-Larry Kudlow on how Trudeau is being mean

"How dare Justin Trudeau work to negotiate the best possible
deal for the country he's the Prime Minister of! I mean, the nerve..." 

Has a non-insulting word left his
word hole or a non-insulting tweet
his tweet hole since taking office?
Or really, since the campaign?

Yeah, but we are insulting. Like, the President routinely resorts to insult as a mode of communication. And Canada does have to stand up for itself. It's like, a real country.

"You know what? Here's the thing, I mean, he really kind of stabbed us in the back. He really, actually, you know what? He did a great disservice to the whole G7."

-Kudlow, about to cry, like, 

his voice cracked and everything

"Petulance as economic policy?
I'm sure this will work out great!"

-No one

The specific reason for Kudlow's breathless and rambling nutty, is that Trudeau held a press conference stating that if the U.S. didn't back off on a bunch of tariffs the Administration was planning on leveling on Canada, they'd respond with their own tariffs on American goods. In response to that, Trump pulled the U.S. out of a communiqué which I guess in political terms is some kind of joint statement by the G7 in which the member countries agreed that their joint goal was "free, fair and mutually beneficial trade." Agreement? Mutual benefit? Can't have that...

This is, and I mean no insult to junior
high kids, but this is some junior high
level bullshit. Ok, some insult...

Also, Trump wants Canada to agree to an expiration date on NAFTA so he can renegotiate it with out look like he's the one walking away from it and-look, I'm not going to pretend to understand all the nuances here, but what I can tell is that this isn't a great look for us as a country. I mean, a thin-skinned, tantrum-prone reality-show star currently under federal investigation is stomping his feet, making ridiculous demands and then calling other world leaders liars? We're not exactly leading by example here. Huh? Oh right, the liar thing.

Here's what Trump said in a press conference where he explained his reasons and then fielded questions from reporters. Questions he answered thoughtfully and fully as one would expect from someone holding hight office. Just kidding. It was an angry tweet and one he sent from Air Force One on his way out of town.

But at least it wasn't in all caps so...progress?

Stupider than this nonsense?
Hold on to your MAGA's...

Yuppers. That was Donald Trump, yes the Donald Trump, accusing someone else of being dishonest. Also his calling Trudeau out for saying Canada 'will not be pushed around,' is a little weird coming from a guy who ran on a super-klansy platform of 'America first.' But wait, because it gets stupider. Back to the interview where Kudlow goes on to admit to Jake Tapper that all this pouting and angry tweeting is also about making us look tough in negotiations with North Korea.

Just to be clear, are we cribbing our
foreign policy from Cobra Kai?

And he explained this in the most insulting and acronym-filled way possible:

"POTUS is not going to let a Canadian Prime Minister push him around. Push him, POTUS, around, President Trump on the eve of this. He is not going to permit any show of weakness on the trip to negotiate with North Korea, nor should he-"

-Kudlow, on how-holy shit,

this is about dicks...again

Again, I'm not an expert here, but the gist, as far as I can see is this: a gameshow host most of us didn't vote for is making unreasonable demands of America's largest second trading partner and then accusing them of being unreasonable for having a problem with it, all so he can look tough in front of some autocrat nobody voted for. Have I got it surrounded? Super.

As a one-quarter Canadian who's feeling 100% embarrassed about how
the guy representing the U.S. is behaving/just is, I'd just like to reiterate that Canada
is, in fact, a real country, a member of the G7 and a close ally, so could we maybe
 not talk about their Prime Minister like he's some over-reaching country clerk?