Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has often been dubbed Canada's Obama. Nah, he's more comparable to Joe Kennedy III or Israel's Yair Lapid, a young, good-looking, empty-headed silver spooner who is only in the running for anything because of his last name. Trudeau's dorky Excellent Indian Vacation helped make that clear. And it's just the gift that keeps on giving.
The obvious disaster is still the cosplay photos of Trudeau and his family. But a chunk of that mess only came about because Trudeau's sympathy for Sikh separatists had infuriated the government. And the precocious prime minister just keeps digging a deeper hole.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's scandal-ridden trip to India may be over, but the controversy surrounding it refuses to go away.
Trudeau has become embroiled in a fresh spat, following his apparent endorsement of allegations that factions within the Indian government had actively sought to undermine his visit to the country last week.
The comments, made during Trudeau's first parliamentary session since returning to Canada, provoked a swift rebuke from the Indian government, with a spokesman for India's foreign ministry labeling the suggestion "baseless and unacceptable."...
The issue reached a head after it was revealed Jaspal Atwal, a militant Sikh separatist convicted of attempting to murder an Indian politician in Canada, had been invited to at least two Canadian government-linked events, including an official dinner with Trudeau at the Canadian High Commissioner's residence in New Delhi.
The dinner invitation, which was later withdrawn, sparked outrage in parts of India, where the issue of Sikh separatism remains a highly charged and emotive topic.
On Tuesday, Trudeau faced questions in parliament over reports in the Canadian press, sourced to an unidentified Canadian official, that the government of India had colluded to place Atwal at official events in order to embarrass Trudeau.
In response, Trudeau appeared to offer his support to the claims made in the reports. "When one of our top diplomats and security officials says something to Canadians, it is because they know it to be true."
The comments drew condemnation from Canadian opposition leader Andrew Scheer, as well as the Indian government.
"The Government of India, including the security agencies, had nothing to do with the presence of Jaspal Atwal at the event hosted by the Canadian High Commissioner in Mumbai or the invitation issued to him for the Canadian High Commissioner's reception in New Delhi. Any suggestion to the contrary is baseless and unacceptable," said India's Ministry of External Affairs in a press statement released Wednesday.
The smart thing would have been to put the disaster behind him, but instead Justin decided to fan the flames by trying to blame the Indian government for his own trip. And worse still, he did it in a backhanded away while trying to maintain some distance from it.
His political allies appear to have leaked a conspiracy theory defense. And then Trudeau decided to further alienate India's government by shifting the blame to them.
Maybe he should stick to explaining quantum computing.