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“I am a Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, or free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind.” ~~ John G. Diefenbaker

KRUGGEL -- You have to be grossly tone deaf and ignorant as a diplomat to say something like that in the nation you are speaking to


U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstr is dumb, and I have no problem writing that down.

Why would I write that? My first reason is that it is true.

Ambassadors have a unique role in politics. They aren't elected, but they are national representatives, nevertheless. They are accorded a high degree of diplomatic immunity. They speak for their government. They speak to the state they are posted to.

Let me repeat those two key points. One of their duties is that not only do they speak for their government, but they also gauge and understand the people they are speaking to on behalf of their government.

A good ambassador, a good diplomat, is sensitive to the mood of those people he or she speaks to. Their job is to grasp the nature of the people in a country.

Hoekstr is missing the part completely.

He made some comments that Canadians aren't happy with the United States, and they are downright unpleasant about it. Our anti-American sentiment upsets him.

“I'm disappointed that I came to Canada — a Canada that it is very, very difficult to find Canadians who are passionate about the American-Canadian relationship... You ran a campaign where it was anti-American, elbows up, me too. You know, that was an anti-American campaign. That has continued. That's disappointing." ~~ Pete Hoekstr

What exactly was he expecting? His boss is Donald Trump. 

Before Donald Trump was sworn into office he outright lied about Canada, on numerous occasions, about various topics including saying that Canada was a major conduit of Fentanyl entering the USA (about 0.1% comes through Canada), and that Americans couldn't bank in Canada. The last one was an outright lie.

Then he said he would place 25% tariffs on all Canadian goods. He said the United States subsidizes Canada to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars a year. He said that Canada doesn't work as a nation. He got back on trade and said Canadians are nasty. He said he would consider annexing Canada.

That last one is tantamount to war.

This is all in spite the fact that Canada has easily been the United States most reliable trading partner. Trump blames current US-Canadian trade deals like CUSMA. Except, he signed CUSMA after forcing it in his first term.

Now, saying all of that, Pete Hoekstra is surprised and disappointed that Elbows Up! and anti-Americanism is rampant.

You have to be grossly tone deaf and ignorant as a diplomat to say something like that in the nation you are speaking to. He clearly has zero grasp of Canada-US relations and why they have deteriorated.

The sentiment here is 100% the fault of the administration, nay the regime, he represents.

He also complains about boycotts by average Canadians. I'm sorry but if you kick my dog ,and crap on my lawn ,I'm not going to be your friend. If I'm not your friend, I'm not going to buy your products or services.

The boycotts are from average Canadians who are pissed off and rightly so. Any good diplomat would understand this and look for ways to:

(a.) communicate this back to his boss and 
(b.) smooth out the relationship.

Yet, Pete Hoekstra, like many in the Trump regime, believes that they are victims of the world that has been taking advantage of America. The victim mentality is strong among the Trump regime leadership.

It is nothing less than delusional thinking.

Most seasoned diplomats wouldn't mouth off like Pete Hoekstra did. They'd choose their words far more carefully, and they'd do so not because they are trying to kiss ass but because bilateral diplomacy is a two-way street. A diplomat, as I said, has to represent their nation and understand the nation they are speaking to.

Pete Hoekstra got the first part right, and the last part wholly and completely wrong.

He's not very good at this job.

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