, 03.07.2019 10:35 AM

Three big mistakes Trudeau made at his #LavScam press conference

1. He didn’t apologize. After Trudeau’s office leaked that the beleaguered Liberal leader was deliberating about an apology for the SNC-Lavalin scandal, we all kind of expected one. We didn’t get one. And when Trudeau was asked why, he blinked and stammered and looked offended. Dumb. Apologies cost nothing, Petit Justin. But if done right, they pay many dividends. 

2. He didn’t take responsibility. Even if you don’t apologize – even if you don’t express the smallest amount of regret, which Trudeau didn’t do either – it’s important that you accept that the proverbial buck stops with you. Trudeau (again) said that it’s all Jody Wilson-Raybould’s fault. “She didn’t come to me,” he wheezed. Well, actually, she did. You just wouldn’t listen. 

3. He didn’t sound sincere. Justin Trudeau’s greatest strength is his acting ability. He is an expert at radiating wet-eyed sincerity and emotion – kind of like our Labrador retrievers, when we come home and discover they’ve eaten an entire living room sofa. At his press conference, Trudeau had all the conviction of an ISIS hostage reading a statement prepared by his captors. This was a truly historic moment, and Trudeau needed to convince us. He didn’t. 

33 Comments

  1. Fiona McMurran says:

    Mr. Trudeau seems incapable of really taking responsibility for this situation, which indicates to me that this government has no intention of making any changes in the way it operates. The PMO will continue to run the show; the Privy Clerk will continue to believe that he has a direct line to the Almighty (God, not the PM): David Lametti will overturn the decision of the DPP and grant SNC Lavalin a DPA: and everything will be for the best in the best of all possible worlds: the Liberal world.

  2. not 1st says:

    I will propose this again. What calculus is in play for a mere 10 seat gain in Quebec and hemorrhage losses in the 905 and western Canada? And all over one single insignificant company? As A. Coyne, why didnt they just stroke SNC a cheque from the coffers. Why all the behind the scenes machinations? Makes no sense.

    • Gord Tulk says:

      This is far bigger than the next election. This is about letting a big chunk of the Laurentian elite’s assets go down the tubes.

  3. mike jeffries says:

    Starting off with “you know I’m going to Iqaluit” was really dumb. Start off by immediately changing the channel. Really!

  4. Gayle Comeau says:

    Justin cries at everything he thinks he can get mileage on. He has apologized for everything in history on behalf of Canadians . Now that it truly matters he does neither.
    He is not fit to lead this country, he and his people are elitists and can’t connect with the people they were elected by. They were elected to do things by the rule of law, not 9,000 jobs for Quebec. What about Alberta and the thousands of jobs actually lost due to their inability to follow the laws legally?
    Good on MP. Jody Wilson-Raybould.

  5. Rob H. says:

    What do you expect from a political party whose mantra is “Never admit a mistake, never say sorry”.
    As many of the articles from the international press keep pointing out, he’s not very smart.

  6. Luke says:

    I don’t think he should apologize for stuff if he doesn’t feel apologetic. Like I tell my kids, an insincere apology means very little. Which is to demonstrate the problem – he doesn’t see himself as responsible for this problem, and he doesn’t feel at fault. Lack of apology is maybe somewhat honest, whereas fake apology is transparently meaningless. Either way, I’ve no use for JT in our politics at the present time. Very unhappy with him.

  7. Paul Lynch says:

    Trudeau is a lowlife.

  8. Marie says:

    7 things a narcissist will never do. 1. Apologize 2. Take Responsibility 3. Self-Reflect 4. Forgive 5. Act Selflessly 6. Express Real Feelings 7. Emotional Nuance (causing extremist black and white thinking). He’s right on track !

  9. RKJ says:

    BS and hot air have worked well for Justin so far. Must be assuming will work again.

  10. the real Sean says:

    4. He didn’t resign.

  11. ABB says:

    There are so, so many historical examples of how to do this wrongly, that you would think someone in the PMO bunker would have put forward a more transparent scenario, and thus demonstrating the massive political upside of that path. No, instead they repeat the mistakes of history. Wow. This is going to drag forward many many more months.

  12. Eleventh Time Commenter says:

    Did your dogs eat a sofa?

  13. Vancouverois says:

    Amanda Connolly, from Global News: “Prime Minister, thank you for taking our questions today. Just to clarify: are you apologizing for anything today?”

    “Um… I will be making an Inuit apology this afternoon…”

  14. Randy says:

    Now he has really burned a bridge ! He just really isn’t smart enough to realize that people aren’t all stupid . All Canadians excluding his blind followers have had enough of these shenanigans ! This just shows what an elitist upbringing can produce ! A rich , spoiled narcissist !
    Canadians will do the right thing come October !

  15. Dayton Funk says:

    Butts said it all in his last statement. Had everyone done what the Prime Minister asked of them we wouldn’t be here today. Unfortunately for JWR that would have meant she would have to stain her reputation for Trudeau’s political benefit.

  16. NOW I understand why cabinet so solidly did the right thing in lining up behind him.

  17. not 1st says:

    Trudeau apologizes at every event to shame Canada and become our countries redeemer but when the guilt is closer to home, he is first to deny, double down or tuck tail and run.

  18. BMarcille says:

    I used to come here to escape the echo chambers on other pages; to hear what Liberals, and a few Tories had to say.
    Seems more like a deluge of anger over JT’s actions.

    Don’t get me wrong, I think the best thing he could do is walk out, it’s just I’m surprised at the lack of apologists on the site. I guess they’re too busy writing op-eds and letters to The Star.

  19. the salamander says:

    .. yesterday Butts – today, Trudeau reiterated
    At this point, only Paul Wells noted yesterday they have been going with the belief that a PDA may be extended up to and including a vedict after a trial.

    Why has this, the very nut of l’affaire Lavalin not be clarified, comfirmed or disproven.. Surely the Law or new Amendment is not so nebulous, arcane or vague ?

    Why has anyone bothered thinking or becoming polarized if no rule or law has been broken.. because we don’t even know what the law says ?

    Who provided such a legal opinion to the Trudeau Government & when ? Was it written on a yellow post it note ? A la BC’s or Ontario’s former provincial governments ? Was it only whispered in a hallway or elevator ?

    What does Ms Roussel or Ms Wilson-Reybould believe to be true ? I find it incomprehensible that a criminal trial would be prosecuted and a verdict delivered.. and OUR Attorney General could or would then say.. PDA, your Honor..

    I do believe the Government could ask the punishment be mitigated in some way, after a conviction or verdict.. but do not believe what I am seeing here.. ie all this useless polarization, even hysteria, the gum flapping and hissing of MainMedia, idiotic suppositions.. when nobody thought to examine where the goal line or boundaries were, the rules of engagement or propriety.

    Even Aussie Rules football has clearly defined ‘rules’ – fishing may be declared ‘poaching’ when out of season, hockey has ‘penalty shots’ and a clock, archery has a bullseye, not a field of dreams archers aim at.. and only skating awards points from a Russian judge for ‘artistic impression’ .. and last I looked, Andrew Scheer neither plays hockey or holds a degree in Criminal Law

    Can we please see said Law in print.. can we also see or measure the legal opinion Butts & Trudeau are both referencing in context to said law ?

  20. John says:

    Trying to imagine what our former PM, or any other PM would have done after all of the allegations levelled at PMJT. The knives would have been out from almost all sitting MPs. For Trudeau we hear crickets.

  21. Paul Martin says:

    Both Trudeau and Butts seem to have said that they didn’t know that No means No.

  22. Miles Lunn says:

    Exactly right. People understand politicians make mistakes as we are all human, but they expect those who do to own up and take responsibility not look for excuses and blame others. As mentioned in an earlier one, how Gordon Campbell in BC handled his DUI in 2003 (he got re-elected two more times after that) is what you do when you do something that cannot be easily justified. What Trudeau has done is what you don’t do. Heck even Paul Martin’s response to sponsorship scandal were he was upset what happened looks far better and to be fair at least Paul Martin was not directly implicated unlike Trudeau.

    This is what Trudeau should have said from the beginning but did not: “Growing the middle class and helping those who want to join it has always been my top priority as government. I was very concerned the potential of 9,000 job losses would cause and failed to realize the seriousness of this. I sincerely apologize for how I handled this and this is a learning lesson for me as no one is perfect and we all make mistakes, but what matters is do you learn from your mistakes and avoid them in the future. This is a learning experience for me and in the future I promise to consult more widely within my cabinet and caucus and also take into account other issues. My unwavering goal to grow the middle class and help those wanting to join it has not ended and I will continue to focus on this while ensuring we govern in an ethical and honest way” This is what I would have said had I been in his shoes and I think probably would have at least stopped the bleeding.

  23. Kinsey says:

    Mistake #4: Trudeau dismisses Jody Wilson-Reybould’s clear recall of events, backed with documentation, as simply as a “misunderstanding”.

    As if this is simply a typical episode of the old sitcom “Three’s Company”.

    Hmmm … Notice that JT are the initials of both “Justin Trudeau” and “Jack Tripper”?

    Behold, a clip from this morning’s press conference: https://goo.gl/images/teJmZy

  24. Luke says:

    Poor young JUT he just hasn’t got the moral compass or gumption! He’s never had to apologize for being PET’s playboy offspring with a brand – playing @ politics. It’s going to take a surge of deep rooted fear to wring an apology out of this boy-man. Only visceral fear of crashing out of leadership and into minority government will do this.

    The clock is ticking towards these twin scenarios.. So we wait on a hang dog mea culpa when there is a little bit more distance between his current brutal humbling and the outcome of the SNC court proceedings.

    Jane Philpott looking better and better as potential new leader.

  25. Jeff says:

    I find it just bizarre he used the same “different experiences” explanation as when he was accused of inappropriately “handling” a reporter. Why would you even connect the two with a ten foot pole. You cannot make this stuff up.

  26. Vancouverois says:

    Alternative apology from Maclean’s writer Jason Lietaer:

    https://www.macleans.ca/politics/ottawa/the-2-minute-crisis-fix-for-trudeau-youre-welcome/

    I have to say, if he’d done this without the optional point (which says they’ll look at alternative ways to help SNC-Lavalin), I think he would have gone a long way toward defusing the crisis.

  27. Margaret says:

    Why is Brison working now for a company which has as a co-chair Lynch who is also on SNC’s Board. Should we ask why Brison really left? Was it to create a portfolio that they thought JRW would jump at? She didn’t. They misjudged. Butts blew his cover yesterday when he said they “should have thought about it more and known that she wouldn’t want that file”. Wasn’t Lynch previously in Warnick’s office. Need some answers here.

  28. Sean Keane says:

    In case you missed it, he did make another mistake. the important date, September 17th he backs up JWR’s Statement thats the date she told JT of her decision. That alone destroys Gerald Butts account.

Leave a Reply to Luke Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.