On Monday, President Donald Trump met Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau face-to-face for the first time.
Trudeau and Trump had a meeting in the Oval Office, followed by a private lunch.
The Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister, Chrystia Freeland, said this about the meeting:
“The importance of the relationship must transcend partisanship.
… While these fundamental principles of our relationship with the United States endure beyond any change in government, the prospect of a new U.S. administration has prompted our government to actively engage with the incoming administration in order to ensure Canada’s interests are best promoted and defended.”
Handshakes, arm embaces and smiles as Pres Trump greets PM Trudeau at the West WIng Portico just now. pic.twitter.com/kxWDazQCEi
— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) February 13, 2017
President Trump & Canadian PM Trudeau are meeting at the White House. Tune in to Fox News Channel at 2p ET for their joint press conference. pic.twitter.com/H37sFg84JO
— Fox News (@FoxNews) February 13, 2017
Trudeau hopes to persuade Trump to work together job creation and continental security measures. The Canadian leader also hopes to put together a task force on women. I don’t know how well that will work for our p***y-grabber-in-chief. Millions of women marched against him after he was sworn in.
Tamara Woroby, who teaches Canadian studies at Johns Hopkins University, said this about it:
“The only thing that’s predictable about Donald Trump is his unpredictability. Whether that’s calculated – part of the art of the deal – or that’s just his personality, no one going into a meeting with him knows the outcome.”
This morning, Trudeau talked about trade with Trump. Trump wants to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Trudeau tweeted this about it:
Strong Canada-US ties help the middle class in both our countries. Monday, I'll meet @realDonaldTrump in DC to keep working for that goal.
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) February 9, 2017
Trudeau has an itinerary on his website. He will meet with President Trump, House Speaker Paul Ryan, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. There will be a press conference later this afternoon.
Here, Trudeau demonstrates a strong handshake when meeting Trump. The President usually is a pretty aggressive hand-shaker, but it looks like he met his match.
There has been a joint statement released that says, in part:
“We affirm the importance of building on this existing strong foundation for trade and investment and further deepening our relationship, with the common goal of strengthening the middle class.
… We are indispensable allies in the defense of North America and other parts of the world, through NATO and other multilateral efforts.”
Featured image via Twitter
