The Tale Of Two Speeches

 There  were two noteworthy speeches given at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland  this year. The first one was given by the Prime Minister of Canada, Mark Carney. The second one was given by President Trump. Trump's speech included a hostile response to Carneyˋs speech.

We should note that when the world listened to Carney speak, they heard Carneyˋs declaration of independence from subordinate relationships with the great powers. They also heard his call for a revolution by  like middle powers in becoming strong enough  by becoming interdependent. However, when Trump listened to Carneyˋs speech, he heard Carly Simon sing, Youˋre So Vain.

Perhaps Bob Rae, a former Canadian Ambassador to the UN, gave the best interpretation of Trumpˋs speech when he said that even when you compare their tones of voice, Trumpˋs speech was very comparable to Marlin Brandow in the movie The Godfather.

Trumpˋs speech combined elements from both individual and corporate narcissism as he used some false claims about his accomplishments of his 2nd term as President and what the U.S. has done for the world. He also scolded the world for not showing adequate gratefulness for how the U.S. makes the world go round. Trump told the Davos audience that the nations rise and fall with how well the U.S. does. Trump asserted that the U.S. leads and the nations follow. Therefore, nations like Denmark owe the U.S. parts of their kingdom, specifically Greenland, out of gratitude for all that the U.S. does for them.

Trump is now angry that Carneyˋs speech stole the show and so he has been issuing one threat after another. The latest threat pertains to the opening and use of the newly constructed Gordie Howe Bridge that connects Ontario to Michigan.

Trumpˋs treatment of Canada and the Western allies has prompted some guest commentators on news shows to suggest that Trump just might have been a Manchurian Candiate who has become President. Along with what some see as Trump's pathological narcissism, we can begin to see reasons why Carneyˋs World Economic Forum speech gained more approval than Trumpˋs. And what we see in terms of those speeches, while Trumpˋs speech set a very low bar for measuring speeches, Carneyˋs intellect, values, and foresight set an extremely high bar.

Finally, in reference to Marco Rubio's speech at the current conference in Munich, the European nations must take note of how Trump has been treating Canada before finding relief in Rubio's words and tone of voice  when talking about  America's commitment to the European nations.