Dwight Ball really wants you to know he's not like Donald Trump.

It's not like there's a lot of confusion. Newfoundland and Labrador's premier has been called many things, but until he brought up the subject, "Trump-like" was not one of them.

Ball used a major fundraising speech at his government's halfway point to play the Trump card.

"We find ourselves in a time where careful and informed decisions should rule the day," he told the party faithful who shelled out $500 a head for dinner and a speech.

Invoking Donald Trump in some kind of general manner is kind of really more a form of name-calling than it is really making effective comparisons about things that matter to our politics. - Kelly Blidook

"Collaboration, not conflict, will be the key to our success. I'm not Donald Trump."

Then in the same breath he added Paul Davis and Danny Williams to the list of people he's not like, afterwards initially denying that he meant to accuse either of the Progressive Conservatives of being like Trump.

But then he couldn't help himself when he was asked if any politicians were like Donald Trump.

"I know one leader, for sure, and that's Paul Davis, has never taken responsibility as premier for his actions. That's quite clear," he told reporters.

'Cheapest form of not actually engaging in actual debate'

"Invoking Donald Trump in some kind of general manner is kind of really more a form of name-calling than it is really making effective comparisons about things that matter to our politics," said Kelly Blidook, who teaches political science at Memorial University.

"To me that's just sort of the cheapest form of not actually engaging in actual debate."

Kelly Blidook, associate professor of political science at MUN, says comparisons with Trump lowers political debate to 'name-calling.' (CBC)

And as if to prove the point, the next day Paul Davis responded with the political equivalent of "I know you are, but what am I?"

"Maybe we should compare him to Donald Trump, who was elected on promises he has no intention to keep, because that's what Dwight Ball did," Davis told NTV's Danielle Barron.

If breaking promises was all it took to join the Trump club, no politician would be safe from the label.

With Muskrat Falls costs spiralling higher, a huge deficit and an economy in recession, we're now talking about where politicians lie on a scale from one to Trump.

It was a clunky way of Dwight Ball trying to turn some of his biggest weaknesses into strengths.

This appears to be the start of a campaign to convince voters that his low-key, often noncommittal way of answering questions is better for them than … well, right now we don't know what the other option will be in 2019 when voters deliver their verdict on the Liberal government.

The other parties are still hunting for their own messiahs, with no sign of loud-mouthed, crotch-grabbing populists entering the races.

But if voters really do decide they love low-key, we'd better get ready for Premier Ches Crosbie.