'Canadians watching in horror': Trudeau lost for words over Trump's handling of protests

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau went quiet for over 20 seconds during the daily press briefing on being asked about US President Donald Trump’s actions to handle the protests raging across the country. Violent demonstrations have been triggered in America since the 46-year-old African American George Floyd died in police custody and recently Trump has even threatened to take military action to control the situation. On June 2, a reporter asked for Trudeau’s take on the crisis prevailing in the US but after a long pause, he responded saying the Canadians are watching in ‘horror and consternation’ what is going on in the US. 

The clip showing Trudeau sustaining the ‘disappointed’ expression during the briefing has been making several rounds on the internet and netizens have even called it ‘pause with a message’. When the Canadian PM was pressed by the reporter to react to US President’s idea of using soldiers against the protesters who are flooding the streets to demand ‘equality and justice’, Trudeau said it is “time to pull people together” and left Trump out of his comment. He then shifted the narrative to racism in Canada and when the reporter further pushed him to the corner, Trudeau said his “job as a Canadian PM is to stand up for Canadians.”

"We all watch in horror and consternation what’s going on in the United States," he said.

"It is a time to pull people together, but it is a time to listen, it is a time to learn what injustices continue despite progress over years and decades. But it is a time for us as Canadians to recognize that we too have our challenges, that black Canadians and racialized Canadians face discrimination as a lived reality every single day."

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Canadian Deputy PM on US protests

Trudeau was not the only Canadian politician who was forced to give a reaction on Trump and the US protests. When Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was asked for a comment, she did not mention US President’s name in her response but instead, said that as a Canadian leader, her focus is on her own country and to act accordingly. When the reporter asked Freeland if she and Trudeau are refraining from direct criticism of Trump and his administration, Canadian Deputy PM said their concern is racism in Canada.

"As a Canadian politician, as a Canadian leader, my focus is on Canada and it is on being very clear within our government and with Canadians that this is not a problem to which we are immune. It is a problem here in Canada, and it is our job today to listen to Canadians, to listen to black Canadians, and it’s time for us to act," Canadian Deputy PM.

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