News outlets in the United States and beyond are making note of the bonhomie between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, President Barack Obama and their wives during Thursday’s official visit and state dinner at the White House.
Advertisement
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, retired NBA star Grant Hill and his Canadian singer-songwriter wife, Tamia Hill were also on the guest list.
Leahy and a few other Democratic senators were joined by Republicans Susan Collins of ME and Orrin Hatch of Utah.
The event was the ultimate intersection of the capitals of North American legislative power – Ottawa and Washington, D.C. – and Hollywood celebrity, with high-profile figures from the political and business arenas joining notable homegrown names from the world of entertainment on the high-wattage guest list.
“Dismiss showmanship at your peril because without it, we are nothing more than squabbles over soft-wood lumber and country-of-origin labeling”.
“Both of our nations are threatened by rising seas, melting permafrost, disappearing glaciers and sea ice”, Obama said at a joint press conference with Trudeau at the White House.
Malia and Sasha Obama also attended the dinner – their first.
Gregoire-Trudeau opted for a boldly hued choice wearing a cap-sleeved embroidered purple dress by Canadian designer Lucian Matis. The first lady sat with Fox.
The menu was also designed with spring in mind – halibut casserole with spring vegetables; salad with apricots roasted in ginger, cardamom and White House honey; and herb-crusted Colorado lamb drizzled with a Canadian whiskey sauce.
“I think it’s fair to say that, here in America, you may well be the most popular Canadian named Justin”, Mr. Obama said.
“He campaigned on a message of hope and of change”, said Obama, echoing his own 2008 campaign message. An article in The Guardian said that in Trudeau, Obama had found the Robin to his Batman.
Mr. Obama also thanked Margaret Trudeau for her work on mental health advocacy, and the room stood up and applauded.
“The American media noticed us!” a headline in Canada’s National Post newspaper noted in mock delight, as it devoted the entire front page to a photo of Obama and Trudeau hugging, eyes closed, and the next four pages to details of the visit, noting the “budding bromance” between Obama and Trudeau.
Advertisement
In 2015 the Obama administration rejected the Keystone XL crude oil pipeline between the Canada and the United States, straining diplomatic relations between him and Canada’s then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper, whose government had promoted and invested in the project.
