The end of the Biden and Trudeau eras can’t come soon enough. Pictured: U.S. President Joe Biden. Photo Credit: Joe Biden/X.
The end cannot come too soon for leaders in the United States and Canada. President Joe Biden’s term will end on Jan. 20, 2025, at noon, but for all intents, it ended sometime in the summer when his party decided to pull a switcheroo and replace him with his vice-president. As for Justin Trudeau, Canada’s Prime Minister since late 2015, a nine-year administration will come to a close under the cloud of doubt and disdain.
Both men once held a firm grip on their offices. Still, as documented in the Wall Street Journal recently, Biden quickly descended into cognitive decline and should have been gently removed from the world’s preeminent elective position long ago. Trudeau, a man who ascended to his party leadership and the nation’s highest office because he shared his father’s last name enjoyed a lengthy honeymoon. By the end of his first term, he could not regain a majority. The past five years have seen him govern with the support of NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and his band of merry socialists. His popularity has tanked during those years and with his party trailing badly in the polls his caucus has turned on him. The end will soon come for Biden and Trudeau with the uninviting twilight of their days in office loathsome.
Biden’s decision to pardon several unsavoury characters, including his son Hunter has only added to the impatience many feel about his departure. He has been largely absent since Trump won re-election and most world leaders appear content to consult Trump or look to him for America’s policy on numerous issues on the world’s stage. Reporting just before Christmas revealed what many had suspected about the aging president, and it was not flattering. In an article in the Wall Street Journal (Dec. 19, 2024 – How the White House Functioned With a Diminished Biden in Charge) the authors detailed how early Biden’s struggles surfaced and the degree to which they were covered up. Consider these comments in the piece:
Presidents always have gatekeepers. But in Biden’s case, the walls around him were higher and the controls greater, according to Democratic lawmakers, donors and aides who worked for Biden and other administrations. There were limits over who Biden spoke with, limits on what they said to him and limits around the sources of information he consumed.
Throughout his presidency, a small group of aides stuck close to Biden to assist him, especially when travelling or speaking to the public. “They body him to such a high degree,” a person who witnessed it said, adding that the “hand holding” is unlike anything other recent presidents have had.
When Robert Hur spoke to this in his classified documents report he was roundly criticized for daring to make such assertions about the “incredibly engaged” Biden. From administration officials to the legacy media, all hands were on deck to protect and defend Biden from any question about his capacity to lead now and into the future. These same defenders were the ones who made sure he was kicked to the curb after the disastrous debate performance revealed what many suspected. The emperor may have had clothes but what was left of his mind? In a world with better politicians, the 25th Amendment would have been employed and Biden would have been gracefully removed before his absentee leadership created more difficulties for America’s foreign policy. How his associates ever thought they could pull this off speaks to the arrogance of power and how far Democrats would go to use the influence of the presidency to hold onto all its perks.
In Canada, we are watching the unravelling of a government and the man who has headed it for almost a decade. Trudeau’s efforts to protect his position have reached epic levels. His defenders may be comfortable with him thinking of himself above his nation or party, but most find it distasteful and off-putting. The arrogance of a Trudeau should come as no surprise. His inability to read a room does. His caucus, cabinet ministers, and party officials have combined to plead with him to leave. It reminds one of how a host attempts to remove a drunk guest from a party once his welcome has worn out.
Trudeau, intoxicated with his importance needs more than a nudge to leave the scene. Someone should bang the gong or use a hook and pull him off the stage. He has lost the agency to decide on his own. The nation needs a new government with a strong mandate as a new American administration, intent on reducing Canada’s influence and independence takes over in January. Trudeau’s pride may lead him to think he can confront the Trump threat, but his unpopularity, stale leadership, and old ideas make him a ripe target for Trump and his America First ideas.
In the annals of the last days, a few tragic figures ride across the screen of history. Dictators like Hitler (Germany), Mussolini (Italy), Gaddafi (Libya), Debayle (Nicaragua), and Ceausescu (Romania) head the list. Excepting the mass murderers there are democratic governments that have listed at the end and then sank ignominiously. Richard Nixon’s resignation, Margaret Thatcher’s rejection within her party, Boris Johnson’s defrocking. The Biden and Trudeau exits are rising in the ranks. Biden because he seems so detached from the office most of the world looks to for guidance. Trudeau appears unwilling to accede to the wishes of his fellow party members, parliament, and the vast majority of Canadians. In time their last days may not seem as objectionable, but the risk rests in what we don’t know but will eventually be told in tell-all stories.
Biden’s decline will likely come to light in the next two or three years when the facts shake loose from those who were forced to keep quiet or were convinced to do so for loyalty. Trudeau’s exploits this author predicts will boil more slowly. His compatriots will have time to let their story stew and will use it for personal benefit at an appointed time. Otherwise, we all now wait. Watching the struggle of two men, who like an insect caught in a spider’s web grapple with an escape and then submit to their fate. Oh, what tangled webs we weave.
Dave Redekop is a retired elementary resource teacher who worked part-time at the St. Catharines Courthouse as a Registrar until being appointed Executive Director at Redeemer Bible Church in October 2023. He has worked on political campaigns since high school and attended university in South Carolina for five years, earning a Master’s in American History with a specialization in Civil Rights. Dave loves reading biographies.
