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FB Exclusive: Trump's re-election, one year later
00:30:22
<p>One year after Trump’s election, the U.S. looks very different than it did in 2024. PM Mark Carney has dubbed Trump “transformative”, and there’s no indication the president is shifting gears. CBC’s Washington correspondents – Paul Hunter, Katie Simpson and Louis Blouin – take stock of the last year, talking to Americans about whether they still stand by their votes, and assessing what’s ahead for Canada.</p>
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- [00:00]
Paige Desorbo
Hey, I'm Paige desorbo and I'm always thinking about underwear.
- [00:03]
Hannah Berner
I'm Hannah Berner and I'm also thinking about underwear, but I prefer full coverage. I like to call them my granny panties.
- [00:10]
Paige Desorbo
Actually, I never think about underwear. That's the magic of Tommy John.
- [00:14]
Hannah Berner
Same. They're so light and so comfy. And if it's not comfortable, I'm not wearing it.
- [00:18]
Paige Desorbo
And the bras? Soft, supportive and actually breathable.
- [00:22]
Hannah Berner
Yes. Lord knows the girls need to breathe. Also, I need my PJs to breathe and be buttery, soft and stretchy enough for my dramatic tossing and turning at night. That's why I live in my Tommy John pajamas.
- [00:33]
Paige Desorbo
Plus, they're so cute because they fit perfectly.
- [00:36]
Hannah Berner
Put yourself on to Tommy John.
- [00:38]
Paige Desorbo
Upgrade your drawer with Tommy John. Save 25 for a limited time@tommyjohn.comfort. see site for details.
- [00:48]
Paul Hunter
This is a CBC podcast.
- [00:53]
Damon Fairless
Hey, I'm Damon Fairless, podcast host here at CBC and sometimes guest host of Front Burner. If you're a regular listener to frontburner, you'll know we've spent a lot of time over the past year talking about the massive impact Donald Trump's having on us here in Canada. Well, my colleagues in Washington have been thinking back to Election Day just over a year ago, and they've been talking to Americans in key regions where the votes swung in favor of Trump to find out if they still support or regret their choice. Paul Hunter, Katie Simpson and Louis Bluein recently sat down to talk about that and about how the past year of Trump has impacted their work too, as Canadians in D.C. we have that conversation now as a Front Burner exclusive. Have a listen.
- [01:38]
Paul Hunter
We're gathered today on the one year anniversary of the single most consequential election victory.
- [01:46]
Louis Blouin
They say this is them.
- [01:48]
Katie Simpson
This isn't me.
- [01:50]
Paul Hunter
I'm a very modest person. I would never say this. Can you believe it's been 12 months already? Like blink, blur. I looked at my daytimer today and it's like full of. It's full of scrawls because you're just jotting down stuff as it goes. 12 months, just like that.
- [02:06]
Katie Simpson
Everything moves so quickly. It feels like nothing really sticks. Like you just blink and you're here.
- [02:11]
Paul Hunter
And Louis, you've moved countries.
- [02:13]
Louis Blouin
Yes. I came in the summer so it looks even shorter for me, but, you know, it seems long at the same time in a way.
- [02:18]
Paul Hunter
Well, welcome to D.C. thank you. Hey, I'm Paul Hunter and I'm senior correspondent for the CBC here in Washington.
- [02:25]
Katie Simpson
I'm Katie Simpson. I'm also a senior correspondent here in Washington.
- [02:29]
Louis Blouin
I'm Louis Blouin. I'm the US Correspondent for Radio Canada.
- [02:31]
Paul Hunter
The new guy.
- [02:32]
Damon Fairless
Yeah.
- [02:33]
Paul Hunter
We are here in the CBC Bureau in Washington, D.C. i suppose we should tell people listening where we are. Specifically the historic National Press Building, as everyone knows. Fun fact, both of you once the tallest commercial building in D.C. really? Yes. Did you know that?
- [02:48]
Damon Fairless
Fun fact.
- [02:50]
Paul Hunter
But this is the place we go to work every day. And to get here, we walk by all the sights and scenes you've seen in the Movies about D.C. the Washington Monuments not far away, Capitol building just up Pennsylvania Avenue. And we are literally two blocks from the White House.
- [03:04]
Katie Simpson
And the best part about that, between here and there, there's a really good bar and it's about the size of an entire block. So you know what, if it's been a day, they're open late, we can go.
- [03:18]
Paul Hunter
This office is always busy, hence certain necessities. But the past year has been especially busy from the moment US President Donald Trump was reelected. There was no question it was going to be an administration that had an impact. Or as Mark Carney has put it, he is transformative. So here we are, it's just a few days past the one year mark, as we were saying, since the 2024 election. And so it's time to talk a little bit about how America has changed and how, how our relationship, Canada's relationship with this country has changed and give everyone a sense of what we're hearing from people who live and work not only here in Washington, but also across the country. I was in Los Angeles, I guess, early in the summer, late spring, when the National Guard, the first wave, I guess, moved in. Katie, you were in Texas the other day, right. And Louis, where were you? North Carolina.
- [04:13]
Louis Blouin
North Carolina. Yep.
- [04:14]
Paul Hunter
Speaking with people. So I want to hear about, you know, more about both of your trips in a second, but let's start by going back. Katie, deep breath. It's almost hard to imagine it now, but take us back into the headspace that the world was in as the election campaign wrapped up last November.
- [04:34]
Katie Simpson
There was a time, a long, long time ago on a planet so far away when people thought Joe Biden had a shot at re election. That's I guess, where we sort of have to start. And there had been so much pressure sort of building around his campaign because there had been question about his health, his mental health and sort of fitness for duty. And it all sort of everything changed the night that Joe Biden decided to debate Donald Trump at cnn. I was there in Atlanta, and we watched, all of us watched as it unfolded, and it appeared it was this disastrous performance. And I'll never forget sitting in this huge arena at these tables that are all set up, and everyone was just silent because I don't think anyone realized, you know, just how bad things were in terms of Joe Biden's ability to participate in something like this. And from there, it was. The wheels were off the bus. Biden was gonna be out within a matter of three weeks. Kamala Harris was gonna be, you know, ushered right on in running that campaign to the end. There was a bit of a, you know, a surge in Democratic support, some new hope. But then, of course, you know, we saw what happened. You know, Donald Trump picking up every single swing state.
- [05:55]
Paul Hunter
And not to mention in the middle of all that, just, you know, in the lead up to the election that Trump was shot at and the fight, fight, fight. And, you know, there were multiple points where you could say everything changed.
- [06:05]
Louis Blouin
That was a movie.
- [06:06]
Paul Hunter
It was incredible. But there we were on election night, and it was unlike 2016. You know, my recollection of 2016 was everybody knew how it was going to end, and that was Hillary Clinton was going to win, right? And then came the what on earth has just happened? A year ago now, it was like. It was kind of. I mean, it could go either way was, I think, the general thinking. But it didn't, obviously. Louis, you were watching from Ottawa that night as Radio Canada's parliamentary bureau chief. What were the expectations then for the Canadian government as it waited to see who would be the next president?
- [06:47]
Louis Blouin
Everybody was holding their breath for sure. And I remember the next day in Parliament, in the corridors of Parliament, and I remember the shock on the ministers of this liberal government who were trying in the scrums to say, no, no, everything is all right. We've been through this before, and we have the experience. We know we're gonna have to negotiate, you know, or revise this trade deal next year. But everybody was trying to play it cool, but you saw in their face that. That they were just saying, oh, my God, here we go again. You know, and we could feel that shock for, like, a whole week in Ottawa. And you know what? Since then, we got the 51st state. So this feeling that emerged the day after the election is still very present.
- [07:32]
Paul Hunter
But since we're looking at this snapshot in time, let's talk about the mood here. And now, a year after that night, Louis, you just got back from North Carolina. Where did you go? And who did you speak with.
- [07:44]
Louis Blouin
Yeah, I wanted to see what are the impacts of the so called big beautiful bill that was adopted in the summer where you know that there were massive cuts to Medicaid, $930 billion over the next 10 years. There's also restricting on the conditions to get access to the SNAP program, the food stamps here in the US These are like very crucial programs for people who don't have a lot of revenue. So I wanted to see a year end. You know, do, did people feel betrayed by this bill and do they see the impact? And what about cost of living? Because inflation is not under control in the US there's big pressure. And I met this family in Raleigh, North Carolina, the Arrondo family. And I spoke with the mother who was a teacher, she's a Democrat. And she was very angry and she explained to me how they feel the pinch right now, like big time. She's a teacher, she doesn't get a paycheck in the summer and they have to delay delayed payments during the summer that they had to make on their house. And I asked her, you know, do you think they're gonna pay a price? Should they be afraid, the Republicans, if we're looking at the midterms?
- [08:52]
Paul Hunter
She's a Republican. She's a Democrat.
- [08:53]
Louis Blouin
She's a Democrat.
- [08:53]
Paul Hunter
Okay.
- [08:54]
Katie Simpson
Yeah, I know that they're afraid of the midterms and so should they. Yeah, they should be because people are pissed. I mean, if you're not outraged, you're not paying attention. And I think, you know, a lot of people are, are tuning out because it's a shit. It's a dumpster fire every day and it keeps growing.
- [09:15]
Louis Blouin
Use a word if you want.
- [09:17]
Paige Desorbo
It's a shit show.
- [09:18]
Louis Blouin
So that's a colorful way of putting it. But you know, people that I met, there's some people who are really pissed about what's happening. And in North Carolina, there's going to be a very tight Senate race there and cost of living might be central to the issues. I also went to western North Carolina where I met a family doctor, Dr. Shannon Dowler. She was in charge of expanding program of Medicaid in the state a few years ago. And now she's just worried that Medicaid cuts will maybe put this expansion in danger. Like it's more than 600,000 people could lose their coverage in the state. So she's very worried. And then again I asked her, do you think the Republicans could pay the price? And she's not sure about it.
- [10:02]
Dr. Shannon Dowler
I'm really afraid they're not. I'm afraid that the misinformation that is so abundant and circulating everywhere is going to keep people from really understanding what's happening. I think also there's. People just have sort of fixed false beliefs about the way the world is. This belief that people are taking advantage of the system and sitting at home and eating bonbons instead of working, and so they're on public assistance. That is just not my lived experience with over 20 years as a family doctor.
- [10:35]
Louis Blouin
So she's afraid and she think that Republicans might not pay the full price for this.
- [10:40]
Paul Hunter
Yeah.
- [10:41]
Louis Blouin
So we'll see what the impact is. And I spoke with some Republican voters while I was there, and I asked about the Medicaid cuts, and a lot of them were just repeating the lines that we heard from the Oval Office, from the president saying, you know, we need to cut waste, fraud and abuse. I've heard a lot of that in this program.
- [10:57]
Paul Hunter
I've met, not in this cycle, but I met with Republican voters in Eastern Kentucky, not too far from where you were. I met a guy who was a coal miner, laid off, serious health issues, black lung. And at the time, Trump was looking to cut Obamacare, and he was terrified of this, but he still backed Donald Trump. It's one of the paradoxes of the political landscape in this country in the era of Trump. And I get it, that Trump's disapproval ratings, you know, he's really dropping, as, by the way, do most presidents when they. After the initial sort of wave goes by. But Trump's is dropping a lot. And yet historically, he has been able to rely on people who, no matter what, will stand by him. Is it enough is the question, you know, in elections to come. Katie, you were just in Texas. What'd you get up to down there?
- [11:56]
Katie Simpson
So we decided to check in with voters one year after the election. And we picked this place called Starr County. It's in southwest Texas. It's on the border with Mexico. And we picked it because for 132 years in a row, the voters there had always voted for whoever was the Democratic nominee for president. But that changed in 2024. Trump flipped it. He won. And it was his message on immigration and it was his message on the economy that really resonated here. And it's one of the poorest places in all of the United States to live. The median income, it can go anywhere from about $35,000 a year to about $38,000 a year. There are some real challenges in finding good jobs. Immigration has helped grow this community a Significant amount. More than 90% of the people who live there are Hispanic. And so it sort of illustrated some of the bigger, broader trend lines we saw in the last election and that' we decided to go there. We spoke with the mayor of one of the towns called Roma. His name is Mayor Jamie Escobar. And he voted for Trump. He's actually a split voter. And this is something that we noticed. He voted for Democrats at lower level offices, but voted for Trump. And he talked about his City hall office is next to this historic plaza which is right on the Rio Grande River. And he talked about how frequently he would see people, they would either come across in like a little raft and come up and surrender to Border Patrol, which is one way to formally start the asylum seeking process.
- [13:30]
Paul Hunter
Surrender, exactly. Here we are.
- [13:32]
Katie Simpson
Come across and surrender and seek asylum and start that process. Other times he said he would see people crossing and then making a run for it. Neither was necessarily unusual in terms of it. You know, it could go either way. And he described to us how that has changed in the months since Donald Trump came into office.
- [13:52]
Mayor Jamie Escobar
Since Donald Trump has become president, we haven't seen the same type of situations. We don't see illegal crossings. Like I mentioned, they could be happening. They just don't happen here like we used to see them here in this area.
- [14:05]
Katie Simpson
How does that make you feel?
- [14:07]
Mayor Jamie Escobar
I think that for the citizens here in Roma, it makes them feel secure. A lot of the neighbors were concerned that maybe people would be breaking in. They were concerned that sometimes migrants, even though they're well intentioned, a lot of them are, they just want to come for a better life. They were in fear that maybe they would be. Their homes would be broken into or just they're not used to so much traffic. So it was. Now I feel like they feel a lot more secure.
- [14:34]
Katie Simpson
So he described the difference as like night and day. According to Customs and Border Patrol, crossings illegally into the US are at a 55 year low. During the peak of the immigration crisis under the Biden administration, It was like 5,000 people a day that were being stopped. Now it's down to about 230 or so people a day. So the numbers have changed. People are not showing up on the southern border like they had been in the past. And so when we talked to Trump voters about it, there was a lot of satisfaction on that. Like, has your life gotten any better since Trump?
- [15:06]
Paul Hunter
I feel it has, you know, it has. I feel more at ease, you know, I think that something's happening, you know.
- [15:13]
Katie Simpson
What do you think about Some of the stuff Donald Trump says and does about immigration.
- [15:17]
Paul Hunter
I used to be an immigration officer, so I think he's doing great.
- [15:22]
Katie Simpson
What do you like about the changes he's brought in?
- [15:24]
Paul Hunter
I love everything. Everything.
- [15:27]
Katie Simpson
So there is support for that, that aspect of Trump's agenda. But the one place where we did find some sort of common ground between Democrats and Republicans and Louis, you touched on it as well. It's the affordability issue. We talked to people that are having a really hard time buying groceries. I spoke with one woman who said she tries to go grocery shopping once every month or once every two months if she can stretch it out. Grocery prices are not down, despite what Donald Trump has said. And there, you know, there has been some changes on some key issues, like eggs, the price of eggs, they've stabilized. The price of gas has stabilized. But overall, people are not finding life is any easier in this moment. Those concerns about how am I going to feed my family, how am I going to pay my rent, or how am I going to pay a mortgage that is front and center.
- [16:16]
Louis Blouin
And, you know, when we look at the elections, the local elections that happened this week in New York, in New Jersey, in Virginia, you know, cost of living was central. And, you know, and the Democrat candidates won, played that card, like, very well as Oran Mamdani articulated his whole program on it, and it seems that it paid off. While the president these days is talking about, you know, demolition, a ballroom, he's throwing a Great Gatsby party for Halloween the day before the food stamp will stop. So there's a risk for him, I think, at this moment to appear disconnected from voters.
- [16:53]
Paul Hunter
Yeah. And just to clarify what we're talking about for everybody, there were three elections in this country this week. The mayoral race in New York City that Louis was referencing, also the election of two governors, both Democrat, in New Jersey and Virginia. I think it's fair to say Democrats feel pretty good about those elections this week. And even if Donald Trump wouldn't say so, a lot of Republicans has given them pause. I think the stories that both of you tell are a reminder, though. I think a lot of people think there's one single thing that is going to turn and just watch that thing. But in fact, it's a mosaic. Different people in different parts of the country. City, rural, different issues matter to different. Texas is, you know, come back to the elections this week, but just pick up on what you're talking about. Texas, that has been this place that Democrats have long had their eye on. Surely this is the time right but the next presidential is still a long way away, and memory can be short. And so if to come back to inflation, that gets under, he's got a long time to get that under control. You know, Katie, you were watching the elections this week. What did you think about.
- [17:57]
Katie Simpson
Yeah, so I think the mayoral race in New York City is obviously the one to watch, because this is. Mamdani is a transformative figure when it comes to politics in America. At a time when the Democrats do not have any sort of clear leadership, is this the direction that the party wants to go? He delivered a message on affordability, on making, you know, life easier in New York City. And it's a message that absolutely did resonate. He's being vilified by the Republicans. And you can sort of look at that sort of two ways. Is it because they're scared that his message might gain traction, or are they concerned about the changes he's going to bring in? I think watching him going forward is going to be certainly, you know, if he is successful in making life more affordable in New York City and he remains popular, are we going to see Democrats sort of hitch their wagon to him? The other thing that stands out to me as well, and this is more of sort of Washington, D.C. kind of thing, is the election in Virginia and the way that there was Democratic surges, and it's likely because so many federal government employees lost their jobs. Doge came in and has sort of been a wrecking ball to the federal public service. And if you didn't lose your job, you know, chances are you were treated very, very poorly. And, you know, morale is not great in this moment. You don't know whether your job is gonna stick around.
- [19:26]
Paul Hunter
You're not worried you might lose your job if you haven't?
- [19:28]
Katie Simpson
Exactly. And now the federal government is shut down. Everything is sort of. If you are in that space where, you know, federal government jobs generally are considered very stable, very good jobs, and all these people in the suburbs around Washington, D.C. who contribute to the federal public service getting doged. It did not go well for Republicans. I know that that's just one very specific local sort of thing, but it played out that way.
- [19:52]
Louis Blouin
But this week, Donald Trump was saying, oh, you know, because I wasn't on the ballot. But you know what? He was on the ballot, I find, you know, you mentioned the cuts, but also in New Jersey, there's this big infrastructure project between New Jersey and New York that he canceled the funding. And the Democratic candidate just played big time on it, and it served her well. So that's where, you know, it was a bit about Trump, too, this week.
- [20:15]
Paul Hunter
On every ballot. He was right there between the lines. Yes, absolutely. So, yeah, the Dodgers beat the Blue Jays. Right. So we're not gonna talk about that, but we will draw Canada into this. Look, each of us has, at different times, covered Parliament Hill, you two, more recently than me, but we all know Canadians who are here working the Canada file vis a vis the White House and Capitol Hill. To both of you now, I mean, let's characterize how the U.S. canada relationship has changed from the time you were on the Hill. Louis, you were there most recently. It's been just a short time for you here.
- [20:46]
Louis Blouin
Yeah, well, for me, it's the contrast between, you know, when they were able in the first Trump mandate to negotiate and have this plane land on the NAFTA renegotiation at the time. But then, here we go, Chapter two, second round, and we're just going through this kind of trade nightmare again, and it's like, we didn't move, we didn't advance. And, yeah, there's kind of a feeling of deja vu for me when I look at what's happening. It's so unprecedented, and, you know, there's nothing you can really control with the president in those negotiations. So at some point, I wonder where this plane is going to land. We thought it landed, but, you know, it didn't.
- [21:29]
Katie Simpson
What I've been told, and I've reported on this across various CBC platforms is every sort of signal I get from everyone who's actually involved in what's going on, is that during Trump 1.0, when Canadian officials were negotiating with their counterparts. So say it was Chrystia Freeland was dealing with U.S. trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. If the two of them came to an agreement and Robert Lighthizer had signed off on it, you could guarantee, okay, this is good. Excellent. Off to the White House. Donald Trump's gonna approve it, and on we go. That is completely out the window now. Also, Canada found people who were allies during the Trump administration nodding to Jared Kushner about how much he helped advance Canadian issues, you know, saying the Canadians would get a call. You know, Trump's in a good mood right now. Now might be the time to sort of make an approach and maybe make an inquiry about this. And they had help along the way to get to sort of a landing zone, because there were people around the president who, A, had influence, and B, saw the value in the Canada U.S. relationship. We're now in a time where different members of the Trump administration have different ideas about what should be going. And if Canadian officials are talking to an American official, whether it's Howard Lutnick or Jameson Greer, who's the new U.S. trade Representative, or if it's even Scott Bessant, whoever it is they're talking with, they all go in and make pitches to the president and nothing is guaranteed. And they're not finding that they have the same kind of allies around the table that Canada had previously.
- [23:03]
Louis Blouin
They're looking for a handle. Right. And I think they don't have it. And I was told it was even raised. Does Carney play golf? You know, could he go and have a game with the president and try to smooth things off? And apparently he doesn't play very well. So they're kind of looking.
- [23:19]
Paul Hunter
Maybe that's a good thing.
- [23:20]
Paige Desorbo
Yeah.
- [23:20]
Louis Blouin
I don't know. Yeah, it could be. But, you know, they're looking for insane. And it seems that it's difficult.
- [23:24]
Paul Hunter
I agree with you that the most complicating factor, I guess, besides the obvious, is just the unpredictability of it, that nobody knows what will come tomorrow. And that's. That's a problem, no matter. No matter how you slice it.
- [23:38]
Katie Simpson
I thought you're gonna say the most complicating factor is that Mark Carney's not good at golf. We're gonna get a call from PMO saying he is an excellent golfer.
- [23:47]
Paige Desorbo
Hey, I'm Paige desorbo, and I'm always thinking about underwear.
- [23:51]
Hannah Berner
I'm Hannah Berner, and I'm also thinking about underwear, but I prefer full coverage. I like to call them my granny panties.
- [23:57]
Paige Desorbo
Actually, I never think about underwear. That's the magic of Tommy John.
- [24:02]
Hannah Berner
Same. They're so light and so comfy. And if it's not comfortable, I'm not wearing it.
- [24:06]
Paige Desorbo
And the bras? Soft, supportive, and actually breathable.
- [24:09]
Hannah Berner
Yes. Lord knows the girls need to breathe. Also, I need my PJs to breathe and be buttery, soft and stretchy enough for my dramatic tossing and turning at night. That's why I live in my Tommy John pajamas.
- [24:21]
Paige Desorbo
Plus, they're so cute because they fit perfectly.
- [24:24]
Hannah Berner
Put yourself on to Tommy John.
- [24:25]
Paige Desorbo
Upgrade your drawer with Tommy John. Save 25% for a limited time at tommyjohn.comfort. see site for details.
- [24:35]
Tommy Vitor
The headlines never stop, and it's harder than ever to tell what's real, what matters, and what's just noise. That's where Pod Save America comes in. I'm Tommy Vitor, and every week I'm joined by fellow former Obama aides Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett and Dan Pfeiffer to break down the biggest stories, unpack what they mean for the future of our democracy, and add just enough humor to stay sane. Along the way, you'll also hear honest, in depth conversations with big voices in politics, media and culture like Rachel Maddow, Gavin Newsom and Mark Cuban that you won't find anywhere else. New episodes drop every Tuesday and Friday with deep dives every other weekend. Listen wherever you get your podcasts, watch on YouTube or subscribe on Apple Podcasts for ad free episodes.
- [25:11]
Paul Hunter
I get so many questions from Canadians when I go back to Canada about what it's like to work here and cover US Politics, per the way we've been talking here. I mean, if you're listening right now and you're wondering about anything we've been talking about or have a question that we haven't answered, we want to know what you want to know about. If you're listening on Spotify, please drop in a comment and let us know. Katie, what questions do you get when you go home?
- [25:38]
Katie Simpson
Is it as chaotic as it looks? And the short answer is yes. I was in Vancouver recently to speak to an audience of journalists just about what this moment is. And the story I told to sort of like sum up it was, we'll go back to January. Donald Trump was inaugurated and one of the first things he did was he signed an executive order granting pardons to the people who were convicted of crimes or anything related to January 6th. And he did that at night. The next day, we all got wind of the scenes that were happening outside the jail in Washington, D.C. so we get a camera and we head on over. And what I witnessed over the course of like three, three hours was just so surreal. And it sort of starts, we get there and there's a few, maybe a Couple Dozen Pro January 6 supporters who were there at the scene. A couple of them have megaphones, so they're making a lot of noise. And you know, they're there, they're demonstrating, they're waiting for people to be released. But they're so loud that you actually see that there's an apartment building right beside the jail. And people in the building start lifting up their windows and start screaming out at them, screaming, you know, January 6th, you wrecked our city. And it gets heated, there's expletives being launched back and forth, back and forth. And then it goes from that to a hurling, an exchange of racial slurs, back and forth, back and forth. So as that's Happening, that's one thing. It sort of dies down and Peter is out. At the same time, there's another group of protesters. They're demonstrators in support of January 6th people, and they seem to be extremely religious. They're holding hands, they're standing in a circle, they're saying prayers, they're singing hymns. They're bursting into God Bless America, the national anthem. That's happening. And at the same time, who walks in next but the proud boys ready to welcome anyone from their group that had been incarcerated as a result of January 6th. So they're there. And then in the crowd, I see a guy that. He's wearing a hat that says Biden sucks. And there are a lot of journalists sort of around him. But what stands out to him about me is I can see his shoes, and he's wearing orange prison issued sneakers. So I know this is a guy who had just come out of jail. Sure enough, he agrees to speak with us, and we do our interview. He was arrested, charged, convicted on violent offenses related to January 6th, and he was just awaiting his sentencing. So we do our interview and, you know, I'm asking him, what do you think? What do you say to people who don't think you should be granted a pardon and all this kind of stuff? And we finish up the interview and the interview ends and the camera's off. And I'm sort of just still talking to him, and he starts making fun of me for being Canadian. And he's like, so when are you guys gonna be the 51st state? And I'm like, when I think about all the things in America right now and all the different things that are going on, it's that story. It's that moment that sort of. All of it encapsulated into one. All of these different challenges and tensions, and then on top of it, we're dealing with, hey, when are you gonna be the 51st state? It's just, just. It's just so surreal.
- [28:41]
Louis Blouin
I got a lot of apologies. I was in New York this week for the mayoral race.
- [28:44]
Katie Simpson
Oh, yeah?
- [28:45]
Louis Blouin
Yeah. Oh, you're Canadian. I'm so sorry about our president. I get that a lot.
- [28:49]
Paul Hunter
I think it depends where you go, though. And that speaks to the divide here, right? If you go. I mean, it's. It's. You get the 51st state jokes if you're in a Republican area. You get the apologies if you're in a Democrat area. Yeah, it's bizarre. It's very interesting and very telling, I think. Look, you know, it feels like we have Lots more to talk about, but it's executive decision time by me. So let's end this conversation for now by looking ahead. Louis, what are you looking forward to in the year ahead?
- [29:15]
Louis Blouin
First cost of living we've been talking about it is inflation will come back under control. I think that could make a big difference for the midterms control of Congress. And you know, what will happen to the next presidential election? So that's one second. Will there be any maneuvers from this administration to try and control the way the voting process will happen? You know, we've seen all these redistricting fights happening in a lot of states, but could it go further than that? Like, I think we, we should be expecting anything and be ready for anything.
- [29:50]
Paul Hunter
Katie, what about you tariffs?
- [29:52]
Katie Simpson
What is going to happen with the Supreme Court case? The Supreme Court justices in asking questions of the Trump administration about tariffs emergency, quite skeptical, really making it very clear that tariffs are taxes on U.S. citizens and sort of returning back to the fact that it's Congress that has control of taxation of American citizens. It doesn't just simply lie with the president. And so what's going to happen on tariffs? Are those tariffs going to be overturned? What's going to happen to the markets? What's going to happen to small businesses? What will this do for Canada? Will the courts bring some relief? Or here's another question. We can have a conversation on another day. You know, if the courts overturn this, does Donald Trump say, you know what? Well, all these other tariffs, raise them more tariffs, bring them in more sections.
- [30:39]
Louis Blouin
Find another way.
- [30:40]
Katie Simpson
Yeah, find another way to do it to make up for the money that they have to give back. It's tariffs all day. Tariff, tariff and then another tariff.
- [30:48]
Paul Hunter
For me, I think I'm going to say Democrats wither. Democrats, right. I mean, you know, Trump's popularity is dropping, as we were noting earlier. And we've seen the rallies with Bernie Sanders and Democrat Alexandria Ocasio Cortez and the tens of thousands of people, et cetera. But the messaging, it's complicated for Democrats. And can they take advantage of reduced popularity for Trump? I'll never, I think it's always important to remember that 77 million people voted for Trump a year ago because they believed in a lot of what he was messaging at the time. And there are still many tens of millions who, notwithstanding the conversation we've just had, who full on support the Trump policies and the Trump mandate. And so I think Democrats, per the elections this week, might be thinking they've got an opening here, but can they hone their message to something that matters to you know, a lot of people would say move away from the far left, get to the center to get into the jargon of it. All right, what are they going to do to get back to where they think they should be is I think one of the things to watch this year. Okay, that's it for us here in our perch two blocks from the White House. But we'll pick things up and be back again with you next week. It's all part of our look at America through a Canadian lens as we hit the one year mark since the US Presidential thanks, everyone. I'm Paul Hunter joined by my colleagues here at our CBC and Radio Canada bureau in Washington.
- [32:18]
Katie Simpson
And I'm Katie Simpson.
- [32:20]
Louis Blouin
And I'm Louis Blue, U.S. correspondent for Radio Canada in the U.S. the new guy. Yeah.
- [32:24]
Paul Hunter
Talk again soon.
- [32:27]
Louis Blouin
For more CBC podcasts go to CBC CA Podcasts.