Oy, Canada

From: POLITICO West Wing Playbook - Thursday Mar 23,2023 09:34 pm

Mar 23, 2023

By Nick Taylor-Vaisey, Myah Ward and Lauren Egan

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OTTAWA — Ask around for JOE BIDEN stories at the coffee shop halfway between Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU’s office and Deputy Prime Minister CHRYSTIA FREELAND’s headquarters, and prepare to be disappointed.

The president of the United States just doesn’t get tongues wagging on Parliament Hill.

Biden touches down in Canada on Thursday night, ahead of a jam-packed day full of meetings with Trudeau and an address to Parliament. But Biden stories just don’t evoke the same fireworks as those involving his predecessors.

BILL CLINTON and JEAN CHRÉTIEN were golfing buddies. BARACK OBAMA and Trudeau sparked a year-long “bromance” — and still share a pint from time to time. DONALD TRUMP set fire to the cross-border relationship, spawning countless fits of frustration as Canadians fought to save free trade.

With Biden, all anyone can scrape together are memories of a toast he delivered to Trudeau at a state dinner in 2016. In the waning days of the Obama presidency, then-Vice President Biden spoke of Trudeau’s potential as a progressive world leader. Biden also reflected on the personal connection he’d forged with Trudeau’s father, former Prime Minister PIERRE TRUDEAU, after his first wife and daughter were killed in a car accident.

“I lost my part of my family,” Biden told the audience in the Sir John A. Macdonald building at the foot of Parliament Hill. “And your dad not only was decent and honorable, but he reached out. He reached out and commiserated with me.”

The moving moment secured a warm relationship between Biden and the younger Trudeau. But it hasn’t been much more than that. And there are still tension points to address — defense spending, instability in Haiti, immigration and China among them.

The White House says Biden and Trudeau have the capacity and relationship to forge through those matters. Biden talks to Trudeau more frequently than most world leaders, a senior administration official said in a press call Wednesday night previewing the trip. Their regular conversation and meetings at several international summits over the last two years “decrease[d] the pressure” for the visit, another official added.

“Justin and Joe is the relationship they have,” the first official said. “We don’t come to Canada with a to-do list, but really with a pause to talk through these issues.”

There will be plenty of opportunities for Biden to lean into the imagery of a productive Trudeau relationship: Toasts, photo-ops and a gala dinner to finish out the trip. He’ll also become the ninth U.S. president to speak before Parliament, speeches that often include a salute to the U.S.-Canada partnership.

“Obama’s speech — he used the terms ‘the world needs more Canada’ — was so embraced. There were cheers from parliamentarians of all parties,” said BRUCE HEYMAN, former U.S. ambassador to Canada under Obama.

But once you break through the fanfare, Biden and Trudeau have a long list of thorny issues to tackle in the short trip. A senior administration official during the press call Wednesday noted that there will be many challenging discussions.

“When I use the word challenging discussions — challenging doesn’t mean contentious. It just means complicated,” the official said.

Biden is aware that his Trudeau relationship is on a different level than the one the Canadian leader had with Obama. Biden even joked about it at his 2016 speech in Ottawa: “All of the internet lit up after you left — you and Barack and your bromance.”

But different doesn’t have to mean worse. CHRISTOPHER SANDS, director of the Canada Institute at the Wilson Center in Washington, described the Biden-Trudeau relationship as “father-son-y, or mentor-y,” adding that the president’s visit is a much needed salve after four years of Trump.

“There’s enough mutual admiration. There’ll be a positive chemistry,” Sands said. “And I think behind closed doors, they’ll be very direct with each other.”

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POTUS PUZZLER

This one is from Myah. Which president had a cookie named after him at the Canadian bakery, Le Moulin de Provence, after he paid it a visit?

The Oval

BABIES, SO ANNOYING: Biden’s remarks Thursday at the 13-year anniversary event of the Affordable Care Act were periodically interrupted by the cries of a baby. “That's all right, we like babies. Matter of fact, I like babies better than people,” the president said, via press pooler DANIEL BUSH of Newsweek.

(For the record, we love babies.)

‘THE MOST PRO-UNION PRESIDENT’: Those working on Biden’s expected 2024 campaign “will be unionized, making him the first president to run a reelection campaign with staff represented by a union,” AP’s WILL WEISSERT and ZEKE MILLER report. Biden has frequently touted his support for labor unions, calling himself “the most pro-union president you’ve ever seen.”

WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE WANTS YOU TO READ: This piece by WSJ’s CATHERINE LUCEY and NATALIE ANDREWS about how top progressives seem to be standing by the president despite his recent moves to the center: “Blowback has been limited. No major protests have emerged outside the White House, like those seen during Obama’s administration, and there has been no talk of a serious primary challenger from the progressive flank,” they write. That’s because many see Biden “as critical to winning the coming presidential race and helping take back full control of Congress, even if they aren’t always on the same page.”

WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE DOESN’T WANT YOU TO READ: This piece by POLITICO’s ADAM CANCRYN, EUGENE DANIELS and NICHOLAS WU about JEFF ZIENTS’ rocky start as chief of staff. “Inside and outside the administration, there is concern over whether Zients has the political instincts and Capitol Hill relationships to deftly navigate a crucial period ahead of Biden’s anticipated reelection run,” they write. They add that much of the worries about Zients have been shaped by a series of decisions made shortly after he started, including Biden’s reversal on the D.C. crime bill.

ALSO PROBABLY THIS… The latest AP-NORC poll shows the president’s approval ratings are down, “nearing the lowest point of his presidency as his administration tries to project a sense of stability while confronting a pair of bank failures and inflation that remains stubbornly high,” AP’s JOSH BOAK reports.

GANG’S ALL HERE: The president, first lady JILL BIDEN, Vice President KAMALA HARRIS and second gentleman DOUG EMHOFF will attend the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in April — the first time in seven years both leaders and their spouses will attend the event, People Magazine’s VIRGINIA CHAMLEE reports.

STICKING TOGETHER: Despite persistent discourse about Biden picking a new running mate for his 2024 reelection campaign, Reuters’ JEFF MASON and NANDITA BOSE report that the president and his VP are “tethered together.” “They have a great relationship. He leans on her a lot," CEDRIC RICHMOND, a former senior adviser in Biden's White House told them. "People consistently underestimate both of them, and they consistently prove people wrong."

Asked if there was any discussion of removing her from the ticket, Richmond said: "I would adamantly say that the answer is: Hell no!"

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THE BUREAUCRATS

CLOSING A CHAPTER: The White House plans to “shut down its covid response team after the public health emergency ends in May, with some staffers already departing and national coordinator Ashish Jha likely to leave the administration once his team is disbanded,” WaPo’s DAN DIAMOND and TYLER PAGER report.

WOW. MORE BABY LOVE: During Transporation Secretary PETE BUTTIGIEG’s testimony Thursday before the Senate Transportation Committee to discuss the department’s proposed 2024 budget, Sen. JOHN KENNEDY (R-La.) asked him how his twins were doing — a notable contrast to the jokes that former Vice President MIKE PENCE made earlier this month at the Gridiron dinner that irked the White House and Buttigieg.

“My father used to tell me, ‘You’ll never know love until you have a child,’” Kennedy said. Buttigieg agreed, adding: “It’s a different kind of love, it's a wonderful thing.”

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Filling the Ranks

FIRST IN WEST WING PLAYBOOK: ERIC VAN NOSTRAND has been named deputy assistant secretary of Treasury for financial economics and acting assistant secretary for economic policy, where he will also be leading on debt limit issues, DANIEL LIPPMAN has learned. He most recently was working on Russia and Ukraine issues in economic policy at Treasury and is a BlackRock alum.

ALL EYES ON PHIL: Buttigieg is also working behind the scenes, talking with lawmakers about moving the nomination of PHIL WASHINGTON to lead the Federal Aviation Administration forward, our ALEX DAUGHERTY and TANYA SNYDER report for Pro s.

He told reporters Thursday he’s "working to persuade anybody who needs persuading — because what we have in Phil Washington is somebody who is qualified, who is uniquely experienced in leading large public transportation-related agencies through change.” The comments come after Washington’s Senate nomination hearing was postponed earlier this week.

Agenda Setting

BALLOON BLAME GAME: During a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing Thursday, Republicans blasted Biden and Defense Secretary LLOYD AUSTIN for “waiting five days before asking for military options to shoot down a Chinese spy balloon last month,” our LARA SELIGMAN, LEE HUDSON and ERIN BANCO report for Pro s.

Gen. GLEN VANHERCK, commander of U.S. Northern Command, said Biden and Austin were the only ones with authority to shoot it down, and that he spoke with Austin five days after the balloon's discovery.

TOUGH BREAK FOR THOSE WHO LIKE UNWANTED CREDIT CARD CHARGES: The Federal Trade Commission unveiled a rule Thursday aiming to make it easier for consumers to cancel recurring subscriptions, NBC News’ JULIANNE MCSHANE reports.

The rule asks “companies to simplify the cancellation process by allowing consumers to terminate services the same way they signed up for them — so if a consumer signed up for a subscription on a website, for example, they would need to be able to cancel it online rather than having to do it by phone or in person.”

DOWNLOAD THE POLITICO MOBILE APP: Stay up to speed with the newly updated POLITICO mobile app, featuring timely political news, insights and analysis from the best journalists in the business. The sleek and navigable design offers a convenient way to access POLITICO's scoops and groundbreaking reporting. Don’t miss out on the app you can rely on for the news you need, reimagined. DOWNLOAD FOR iOS– DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID.

What We're Reading

Roy scores perfect zero on Biden support (Roll Call’s Niels Lesniewski)

America Doesn’t Wage War. Government Institutions Do. (Phil Klay for POLITICO Magazine)

POTUS PUZZLER ANSWER

President BARACK OBAMA has a cookie named after him at the Canadian pastry shop Le Moulin de Provence. He went to buy a cookie from the shop in 2009, and “ever since, we’ve been creating these same cookies (now appropriately called ‘Obama Cookies’), from our special recipe,” the company’s website says. “These delicious shortbread cookies in the shape of a Maple Leaf, with ‘Canada’ written on them in icing, represent a new era in U.S.-Canada relations.”

A CALL OUT — Do you think you have a harder trivia question? Send us your best one about the presidents with a citation and we may feature it.

Edited by Eun Kyung Kim and Sam Stein.

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