Canada Snubbed By Donald Trump—Sad! (…Not!)

Don’t expect a visit from U.S. President Donald Trump any time soon.

Or, as the famous New Yorker cartoon suggests, “How about never—Is never good for you?”

CNN reported that Trump told his advisers to plan a lighter schedule of foreign travel for him—and coming to Canada is not on that schedule.

Trump said he doesn’t want lengthy trips abroad to distract from his focus on domestic issues.

And, as he’s already cited, there’s a negotiating advantage to meeting leaders at the White House—a symbol of American power—or even better, at Mar-A-Lago, a symbol of Trump power—instead of on foreign turf.

According to CNN, other reasons are that foreign travel and foreign meetings can be tedious and gruelling for a head-of-state. Also, it’s well known that Trump like to sleep in his own bed. During the campaign, he flew across half the country to return to his New York apartment each night. He avoids putting himself in unfamiliar settings for extended periods of time.

A person who travels with him on Trump Organization business told CNN the boss did not enjoy foreign travel, did not easily adjust to time zone changes, was wary of exotic cuisines and rarely spent more than one night in a foreign country.

Still, a flight from Washington to Ottawa is just 85 minutes while Trump’s usual weekend flight from Washington to Palm Beach is an hour longer. He could even fly home after a state dinner in Ottawa and get to sleep in his own beddy-bye.

He has in fact accepted a few, likely unavoidable, invitations to go abroad.

His first trip outside the country will be in May for a G7 Summit meeting in Sicily, followed by a meeting of NATO leaders in Brussels. In July, he’ll attend a G2 summit in Germany. He’s also accepted invitations for state visits to Japan and the United Kingdom. Looks like he and Melania couldn’t resist the opportunity to be wined and dined by Her Royal Highness.

But what about our own highnesses, Justin and Sophie?

According to CNN, Trump may be avoiding Canada because he’s “not popular among Canadians, both in government and outside.”

One person close to Trudeau said the liberal leader doesn’t feel slighted by Trump’s reluctance to visit.

Laura Dawson, the director of the Canada Institute at the Wilson Center in Washington, told CNN that Trump would likely be met by protests in Canada should he travel there now—though that’s likely to happen wherever he travels.

Still, she said, there are few hard feelings in Canada about Trump’s absence.

How about none—is none about right?