HUNTER: Ex-New York Post political editor unpacks Donald J. Trump

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Gregg Birnbaum took a sip of his beer and shrugged when I asked him about U.S. President Donald Trump and his apparent enmity towards Canada.

“I wish I had the answers,” Birnbaum said.

Birnbaum was, for years, the astute political editor of the New York Post — a devout centrist overseeing the political coverage of a conservative newspaper in a very liberal city.

That takes talent and open-mindedness, rare in today’s media landscape, which makes Birnbaum an ideal subject for interrogation on the machinations of the orange man in the White House.

We were colleagues on the Post, and we caught up at a Toronto watering hole to talk Trump, newspapers, the media, the state of the planet, and, as Ernest Hemingway once wrote, “how the weather was.”

“His numbers have gone down since he took the oath, particularly his handling of the economy. Of course, Trump says his numbers are higher than ever,” Birnbaum said, adding that some of the popularity hit is related to tariff policies.

The other issue is the mass deportations of illegal immigrants.

“It’s easiest if we focus on tariffs and deportations. All the other Trump stories and policies are impossible to follow,” he said, adding that both issues are headwinds in the “chaotic” environment the president has created.

The longtime political observer said he believes Trump’s woes aren’t so much the policies themselves, but rather the “chaotic nature” of his manoeuvres that have shaken Canada, the world, and the U.S. in the president’s first six months.

Birnbaum noted that the initial economic bumps from Trump’s shock and awe have settled down — for now. But capital LOVES stability. The world’s hellholes are partly hellholes because no one wants to invest their money there.

But one of the questions that continues to rest on the lips of Canadians is why this country — America’s oldest and most reliable ally — has been the target of Trump’s wrath.

“I’m siding with Canada on this one,” said Birnbaum, a dual citizen. “The issue is: How does it benefit Donald Trump or the United States? That’s not clear. Trump says it’s because of fentanyl flooding over the border, but that’s been debunked — it’s less than 1%. The administration has never corrected that.”

He added: “The ‘Canada needs to become the 51st state’ argument has sort of died off, but for a while, he made that argument on a daily basis. It was a silly, preposterous idea.”

Despite differences, Canada and the U.S. are aligned on most issues, he said. As for the economic argument, Trump “dropped it because it didn’t resonate with the American public.”

On a road trip through the Rust Belt last September to gauge the mood of America, I met scores of people whose roots were in Canada. There was nothing but affection for this country, and not one person suggested annexing the dominion.

However, on the Canadian side of the 49th parallel, we’re voting on Trump’s impetuous gambit with our wallets.

“Las Vegas is one of my favourite cities and it prospers on tourism,” Birnbaum said. “A big part of that economic prosperity is due to international tourism, with the lion’s share being from Canada. Canadians skipping those trips is hurting Vegas a lot.”

But rest assured, MAGA fans, Birnbaum has plenty to say about former U.S. President Joe Biden and the Democrats.

“People were asking: ‘Why is Biden ignoring the crisis on the southern border?’ The Republicans made hay of that issue and the Democrats didn’t go near it,” Birnbaum said. “Trump is at his best when he identifies an issue that other people ignore, and then he hits it hard.

“Polling showed that illegal immigration was an overwhelming concern, not just for the GOP but Democrats and independents as well.”

Birnbaum — now an adjunct journalism professor at the University of Florida and Florida International University in Miami  — said Trump’s numbers on the immigration file have also fallen.

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“It’s the approach. People don’t like seeing scenes of immigrants being snatched off the porch of their homes in the middle of the night. It seems like an overreaction,” he said, adding the deportations need to be “less hyper-aggressive.”

“Democrats have to be part of the Trump story. Their approach seems to be ‘hit me.’ They’re cowering in fear and are getting creamed on issues like DEI and identity politics, and it’s put them in the position of trying to defend that.”

Birnbaum laughed that the Democrats are offering empty words like “affordability.” Between defending identity politics and gobblygook like “affordability,” Birnbaum said the result has been the implosion of the Democrats.

In addition to his long tenure at the Post, Birnbaum had the same job at the New York Daily News, the Miami Herald, CNN and NBC.

He offers this advice to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.

“Don’t provoke him, flatter him. Trump was thrilled by his palace invite from King Charles, an Apple-shaped glass cutout in a 24-karat gold base from Apple CEO Tim Cook (Trump loves gold), and the private jet from Qatar,” Birnbaum said. “With Donald Trump, flattery will get you everywhere.”

To best understand Donald J. Trump, Birnbaum suggests reading his biography, The Art of the Deal. In it, Trump describes how he enters negotiations.

“There is no preparation, no briefings, no meetings, positives or negatives. It all comes down to what his gut tells him. Mark Carney should start Christmas shopping now,” Birnbaum said. “As I said, flattery gets you everywhere.”

bhunter@postmedia.com

@HunterTOSun