Eric Ham: Mark Carney held a masterclass in how to deal with Donald Trump

Washington analyst Eric Ham discusses Prime Minister Mark Carney’s meeting with President Donald Trump.

Eric Ham is based in Washington, D.C. and is a political analyst for CTV News. He’s a bestselling author and former congressional staffer in the U.S. Congress and writes for CTVNews.ca.

Prime Minister Mark Carney made his eagerly anticipated visit to the White House for his meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this week. The meeting was anticlimactic and saw no confrontations, trolling or perceived slights from the mercurial American leader.

Each man greeted the other with warm handshakes, beaming smiles, and spirited fist jabs. The jovial and festive vibes continued into the Oval Office where each leader continued to shower the other with complimentary missives. A far cry from the biting attacks and disrespectful antics on display during the final days of the Trudeau tenure.

Nevertheless, despite the camaraderie and fawning admiration on display from each, it was Carney that managed to remain resolute and firm, leaving any doubt his acumen and resolve are equal, if not greater than that of the “leader of the free world.”

After months on the campaign trail, Carney was able to convince voters that he alone was the leader Canada needed to navigate the incessant incoming attacks to the nation’s sovereignty from its southern neighbor. Leading his party to one of the most improbable comebacks in recent memory, the newly-elected prime minister now needed to show a still weary country and an American bully of his true political mettle.

Adroitly and anxiously seated beside his nation’s protagonist, Carney eagerly pounced at every mischaracterization and deftly, albeit with smooth precision, countered Trump’s efforts to suggest Canada would be better off as a territory of the United States.

Espousing language used by the president, at one moment during their meeting, prime minister Carney interjected, saying:

“As you know from real estate, there are some places that are never for sale,” Carney said. “We’re sitting in one right now, Buckingham Palace that you visited, as well. And having met with the owners of Canada over the course of the campaign the last several months, it’s not for sale, it won’t be for sale, ever. But the opportunity is in the partnership and what we can build together.”

Exhibiting piercing political counterpunching, Canada’s Comeback Kid made clear he could withstand the blistering attacks on his nation while also delivering equally paralyzing blows that most did not see coming. Throughout the public-facing portion of the meeting, each world leader sought to gain an advantage in their game of one-upmanship for the most glowing adulation.

Carney, the global novice to some, with many unanswered question marks about his political acumen and stamina pitted against America’s wannabe strongman.

Would he be treated like Ukrainian President Vlodomyr Zelensky who was berated and unceremoniously thrown out of the White House? Would he behave like the U.K. Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, who some say stooped to groveling to placate the mercurial president?

Or would the Canadian PM simply be overwhelmed by the moment and acquiesce to all of Trump’s incessant demands of subservience?

A steely resolve and a heart seemingly pumping nitrogen along with cold ice running through his veins, Canada’s prime minister stood on behalf of a nation as an equal beside the United States’ aspirational authoritarian. No longer just empty rhetoric or meaningless jargon, the campaign message that catapulted him to victory was more than just persuasive narratives but a blueprint; an exhortation; a doctrine. An embodiment of not just what Canadians wanted from their leader but a conjuring of an entire nation’s grit and dogma encapsulated and unleashed by their PM when facing down an existential threat.

For now, this battle goes to the Great White North. Tariffs, trade agreements, national security and more are all on the table as two once-great allies develop a new way forward. Most certainly the relationship has been forever changed. Trump made clear in his high-stakes meeting with Carney the overarching goal was “friendship.”

• Complete coverage of U.S. President Trump’s tariffs

No doubt Trump’s definition of the word is malleable and changes often; certainly with all benefits directed in his vicinity. Give and take. Trump gives nothing and takes everything. Friendship but with a macabre twist.Carney’s perplexing decision to meet with Trump in Washington, no less so soon after his monumental victory, must have come as a surprise to many Canadians. Voters perhaps wondered if they had been duped by the former banker. Worse yet, in the wake of the news of the nation’s economy contracting, would he offer up the country for a pauper’s ransom? Carney definitively answered those and more questions in resounding fashion.

The nation would be the immovable object staring down America’s unstoppable force. The prime minister, alas, was unable to halt the trade war and the debilitating tariffs. However, on this day and for this meeting, he did not need to; he only needed to stand his ground against an unrelenting economic war machine orchestrated by an autocrat bent on inflicting maximum damage.

Mission accomplished.