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Now in a crisis, Trump also banned the export of gloves and other medical equipment, but — even more hurtful to Canada — added that exceptions might be made to help Italy and Spain, which have been especially hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic. Then, even after Canada and 3M pushed back, citing contractual obligations and humanitarian concerns, the president said dismissively that he was “not happy with 3M.”

Trudeau’s response about this deadly snub, on April 5, consisted of bobbing and weaving. When asked if he’d talked with Trump to try to resolve the crisis, he replied that he was “looking forward” to doing so in the “coming days,” but that a process involving the usual channels was underway.

This is Canada being put on hold, not Turkmenistan.

Of course, Trump is a piece of work and Trudeau is not the only leader on his “hit list.” On April 4, Germany and France charged that airlifts of masks from China were diverted to the United States by officials in Washington. On Friday, German officials claimed that the U.S. “confiscated” 200,000 3M masks that Germany had ordered for its medical workers from a 3M factory in China, according to press reports. When asked, German Interior Minister Andreas Geisel said: “We consider that an act of modern piracy. You don’t treat your transatlantic partners like that. Even in times of global crisis, there should be no wild-west methods.”

Given the bully to the south and the botch-up at home, Canada should reciprocate, not retaliate, and Trudeau should step aside until a healthy relationship with Trump is reconstituted and let a more amiable and business-savvy leader, like Ontario Premier Doug Ford, take the lead diplomatically.