September 11, 2026 - The Art of the Bullshit
It is likely that when President Trump goes to bed he marvels at the monumental amount of bullshit he uttered during the day. This could range from your basic factual misdeeds—like saying the Canadian trade deficit is $200 billion—to fables of firemen carrying you above creaking debris after 9/11. The actual contents of the bullshit are immaterial. What is important is that setting the record straight becomes impossible when an even larger pile of rubbish will be unleashed the very next day.
Then there is our Prime Minister, Mark Carney, who has ridden his political high horse to unthinkable heights simply by stating, in various forms, that he is standing up to Trump. Carney uncoils his bullshit in considerably smaller doses than Trump and he wraps it in sparkly reverence and eloquence so as to dazzle and numb the senses. To wit, the U.S. days as global leader are over!—so says Carney, whose country is heavily reliant on the U.S., that has no gold, and, for some reason, still chooses to hold the bulk of its reserves in U.S. assets.
The contrast, if otherwise unclear, is that Trump controls the narrative by creating, however nonsensical, an endless stream of bullshit. If Trump can send a handful of those with TDS into shock every day this helps him cannibalize messaging. No need to worry about record U.S. debt, rising interest rates, and the Iran debacle. Instead, focus on the new name for Lake Ontario.
Carney feathers the narrative by saying almost nothing of substance, and then allowing his media to praise the profundity. “Canada has what the world wants,” “Build Canada Strong,” and “The old order is not coming back.” None of these mantras actually mean anything. They do, however, elicit a groupthink response that plays well for Carney in the polls. No need to fret about your worsening economic situation. Trump is mean.
The different styles notwithstanding, Carney and Trump are more alike than you may think. One takes a vacation in Italy and then, days later, has the audacity to tell Canadians to “choose Canada”. The other calls his opponents childish names moments before saying he will give everyone $5,000 if they vote a certain way.
Both spread a lot of bullshit.