A new president’s choice of destination for his first foreign trip is symbolic. Over the last half-century, most presidents have chosen Canada (George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama), Mexico (Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush) or the United Kingdom (Jimmy Carter, Joe Biden). When during his first term, Donald Trump chose Saudi Arabia as his first destination, foreign policy veterans criticized him for allegedly snubbing America’s top partners — Trump did not make it to Canada for nearly 18 months and then only to attend the G7 summit. It was his first and only trip to America’s northern neighbor.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau does not want a repeat. On Friday, he visited Mar-a-Lago to dine with Trump, and he tweeted that he looks forward “to the work we can do together, again.” Trump should ignore such sycophancy. Canada may be America’s second-largest trading partner after Mexico, but under Trudeau’s leadership, it has become a security liability and a hotbed for radicalism and terrorism. Canadians may view their society as progressive, and Hollywood may fantasize about living an enlightened life up north, but under Trudeau’s leadership, Canada has become a cesspool of moral equivalence and a refuge for extremists.
After the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, issued a warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the court’s first against a democratic leader, Trudeau affirmed the move. “As Canadians, we will abide by all the regulations and rulings of the international court,” he declared, never mind that Khan violated the court’s own mandate and procedures to act against Israel.
When Mary Robinson, as U.N. high commissioner for human rights, sponsored an Orwellian “World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia, and Related Intolerance,” which degenerated into an orgy of antisemitism and hate, then-Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, who hails from the same party as Trudeau, proudly boycotted, denying the forum legitimacy. Trudeau is no Chrétien, but rather a man afraid to stand on principle. The idea that Nazi-saluting thugs would march through a major city under any previous prime minister is unfathomable. Under Trudeau, such occurrences are called Fridays.
Nor are Hamas and Hezbollah the only subjects of Trudeau’s confusion. Over little more than a year, the Canadian premier has twice caused diplomatic scandals with India by siding with Khalistan separatists over truth and common sense. The Khalistanis are to India what al-Qaida is to the United States. The Pakistan-backed group seeks to win an independent state in India’s Punjab, though it has little support inside Punjab itself. Indeed, prior to al-Qaida’s Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington, the Sikh militants were responsible for the worst act of air terrorism in history, bombing Air India 182 from Montreal to Delhi and Mumbai, killing 329 people.
After unidentified gunmen shot down a Khalistan movement terrorist in British Columbia, Trudeau blamed Delhi and claimed falsely that U.S. intelligence backed his accusation. He later acknowledged there was no smoking gun. Much more likely, the killing was due to intra-Sikh violence. Today, Canada is the international epicenter of Khalistan money laundering. In essence, Canada has become for Sikh terrorism what Turkey and Qatar are to Islamist terrorism.
Canada also gives safe haven to Nur Chowdhury, the fugitive assassin who, a half-century ago, gunned down Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the first president of Bangladesh, despite multiple requests to extradite him.
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Trudeau is the antithesis of Trump. The Canadian leader vapidly virtue signals and lectures as he transforms Canada into a haven for terrorists who attack other democracies. Progressives might find Trump unpolished, but he intuitively takes a no-tolerance stance toward terrorists.
Trudeau not only lacks moral clarity but his tolerance for terrorism risks U.S. security as the Islamist and Sikh militants he cultivates increasingly seek to export their violence and hatred southward. Until Trudeau matures or exits, Trump should give Canada the cold shoulder.
Michael Rubin is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. He is the director of analysis at the Middle East Forum and a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.