“I call him maple syrup MAGA, or mini-Trump,” Freeland joked after Maher asked her how to pronounce Pierre Poilievre’s name
OTTAWA — “I hope there are some Canadians here,” said Liberal leadership hopeful Chrystia Freeland as she joined comedian Bill Maher for a one-on-one interview Friday on the set of HBO’s Real Time in Los Angeles.
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“The ballot question… is who can stand up for Canada, and who can fight for Canada,” Freeland told Maher.
Here are a few key takeaways from the sit-down.
‘Virtue signaling’, ‘identity politics’ were Trudeau’s undoing
“I am an old-school Liberal,” said Freeland. “And Liberals in Canada win when we are focused on people and on what they need in their lives.”
“We lose when people think that we are focused on virtue signalling and identity politics.”
“Politicians win when they listen to people (and) lose when we think we are smarter than the people we work for,” said Freeland.
Poilievre ‘maple syrup MAGA’, ‘mini-Trump’
Freeland stayed mum on the other leadership candidates, but did have a few harsh words for Conservative party leader Pierre Poilievre.
“I call him maple syrup MAGA, or mini-Trump,” Freeland joked after Maher asked her how to pronounce Poilievre’s name.
Freeland said that Trump’s threats to tariff and possibly annex Canada have put Poilievre in a tough spot.
“I think he built a campaign on trying to imitate Trump, but now that Canadians see President Trump wanting to turn us into the 51st state, it’s not going so well.”
‘Little Ari’ returns
“A couple of weeks ago, I was in a small city called Saskatoon and a little four-year old came up to me… her name was Ari, and she said to me… ‘can you stop Trump from invading Canada?’”
“So I have a question for you,” riffed Maher. “Can you stop Trump from invading Canada?”
Freeland has repeated the same line on the campaign trail, including at Tuesday’s English-language debate, even though more than a few people have questioned the story’s authenticity.
National Post
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