Journalist Once Arrested at Trudeau Press Conference Confronts Prime Minister on Beach
(LifeSiteNews) –– An independent Canadian journalist tracked down Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during his summer vacation and grilled him for 10 minutes straight on a variety of topics relating to how his government has led Canada for the past few years. The reporter, Keean Bexte of the Counter Signal, was able to get Trudeau to reveal that he would “absolutely not,” despite bad polling numbers, look for a replacement for himself before the next election.
On Tuesday, Bexte posted a photo on X of himself and Trudeau walking on a beach in Tofino, British Columbia, which is one of the leader’s favorite annual vacation spots.
Trudeau has had me arrested for the crime of attending a press conference, his officers have pushed me into traffic, and I’ve had to sue to gain access to election scrums. This time, he couldn’t get away. For 10 minutes I grilled him on the beach. Publishing tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/4HC3FSVC5k
— Keean Bexte (@TheRealKeean) July 23, 2024
In the post, Bexte made it a point to note that in the past “Trudeau has had me arrested for the crime of attending a press conference, his officers have pushed me into traffic, and I’ve had to sue to gain access to election scrums.”
“This time, he couldn’t get away. For 10 minutes I grilled him on the beach,” he wrote on X.
Bexte had planned the exclusive Counter Signal interview carefully as multiple times in the past he has been arrested, or pushed away by security for just getting close to Trudeau to try and ask him questions
This time, however, perhaps not realizing who he was, Trudeau told his security to back down and then proceeded to walk with Bexte on the beach, after first going to talk with his young son, in what overall can only be described as a sometimes-tense, awkward interview.
At the start of the interview, which is posted online behind a paywall, Trudeau put his hands on Bexte to which the reporter replied, “Please don’t put your hands on me.”
Bexte then proceeded to ask Trudeau a question about why his health minister, Mark Holland, recently claimed that families taking car road trips will make “the planet burn,” and how he could reconcile this with the fact his own family vacation involved using a jet to get to Tofino.
Trudeau refused to give him a straight answer and only asked Bexte how his vacation was, but then claimed that as prime minister he must follow the “rules” and take an air force “jet” to get to his vacation.
He then asked Bexte, “Do you think a Prime Minister should be able to have a family life?” to which Bexte replied, “Absolutely.”
Trudeau then rejected the idea flouted by many that Trudeau is “hiding” from his caucus by going on vacation. Following a shock by-election loss in a Liberal stronghold in Toronto in June, Liberals and the media sounded the alarm over Trudeau’s unpopularity. The prime minister, however, said that a caucus meeting to address the problem was not possible.
In response to a question from Bexte about the Trudeau government’s proposed Online Harms Act, which many experts have warned is designed to radically alter internet use in Canada by stifling certain speech, Trudeau claimed that the bill will do “no” such thing.
Trudeau also claimed to Bexte that he “works more days a week than the vast majority of Canadians,” saying his summer vacation is the “only” ten days a year he gets time to spend with his kids on the beach.
Trudeau vows to stay on as leader
Bexte asked Trudeau directly if he saw “similarities between yourself and Joe Biden’s current political situation,” to which he replied “No.”
Trudeau then asked Bexte if he thought “good people should be stepping up in politics for all different parties,” to which he replied yes.
The prime minister then said to Bexte that “good people are looking at the costs of being in politics, being in public life costs on family” to ask whether it’s “worth it.”
Bexte then asked Trudeau if he was calling himself a “good person” to which Trudeau replied, “I am saying, that my job right now is to try and encourage people to step up into politics,” adding “that’s part of what I’m doing.”
Trudeau told Bexte that a lot of people will look at the “aggressiveness of tracking someone down and challenging them on vacation while they’re on the beach trying to spend some time with their 10-year-old son, I’m going to have to go try and explain that to.”
“A lot of people will say, ‘Wow, I don’t know that they want to sign up for this,’ and one of the challenges we have in a democracy is we need to make sure that good people from all different parties step up and not get their private time turned into public time.”
Bexte then asked Trudeau directly if he was looking for a “replacement” for himself, to which Trudeau replied, “no,” saying he will be “running in the next election.”
Bexte’s interview with Trudeau comes after the reporter has many times before faced arrest for asking non-conservative politicians, including Trudeau, questions.
In fact, when it comes to the independent press in Canada, the Trudeau government has long made it a point to exclude them from attending press conferences, and has even had reporters arrested, such as David Menzies of Rebel News, for simply going near members of the Liberal cabinet.
Trudeau’s vow to Bexte to stay on as Liberal leader and run again in the next election comes despite a recent poll showing that 70 percent of Canadians believe the country is “broken” as Trudeau focuses on unimportant issues. In January of this year, most Canadians reported that they’re worse off financially since Trudeau took office.
The most recent polls show that if an election were held today, Pierre Poilievre’s Conservative Party would mop the floor of the House of Commons.
Thin-Skinned Maine Governor Refers Social Media Criticism to Police
We all know that there are places in the world where simply using “bad language” can get you in trouble with the law. But it’s a pretty good bet most Americans don’t think theirs is one of those countries.
However, the Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) has found out about this. Last December, a video clip showing Maine Governor Janet Mills making gun comments elicited this three-word reaction from the group, which they posted on X: “F**k you. No.”
That was their response to Mills saying there was a possibility “assault weapons” would be banned in the wake of the Lewiston shooting. And the reaction from the governor’s office to the FPC post was to “refer” FPC to the police officer responsible for Mills’s security.
The implication is clear – the insult was taken as a threat. Unfortunately, there is no logic to this “logic,” resulting in Mills attracting more criticism that can be taken as an insult, though not as pointed – one report is now calling the governor “thin-skinned.”
The right to bear arms is a constitutional right in the US (thanks to the Second Amendment, and explicitly legally cemented through the Supreme Court ruling in District of Columbia v. Heller). Yet this has not stopped the issue from remaining one of the many hot-button ones to the point where elected officials attempt to involve the police just to stop criticism.
And, according to the Maine Wire, which found out about the governor’s office reaction and behavior through FOIA request documents – not only FPC, but this news outlet as well were “flagged” in the “referral” to the police.
The Maine Wire is conservative-leaning media, while Mills is a Democrat. And so the outlet’s editor-in-chief Steve Robinson writes that past emails from Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows’s deputy attempted to get the website investigated for what he says was “a cartoon graphic of an election ballot posted to social media.”
Last week, FPC President Brandon Combs sent a letter to Mills and Bellows, invoking the First Amendment as well, to say:
“You must surely be aware that our X post responding to Governor Mills’s discussion of an immoral ban on protected arms is clearly protected speech as there is absolutely no uncertainty about the law regarding this form of speech. If not, some education is in order. Naked authoritarianism, such as efforts to chill free speech, is not acceptable to FPC and our members. We strongly encourage you to learn more about protected speech and arms.”
Reason Magazine sums this, and many similar incidents, as “a flurry of cases across the country involving government officials attempting to misuse the legal system and regulatory power to punish political opponents.”
Caller Thinks Trump Assassination Attempt was Staged, Alex Jones Responds
On the Wednesday show Alex Jones spoke with a caller who claimed that Donald Trump staged his own near-fatal shooting.
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Zelensky ‘Definitely’ Lost Legitimacy – Kremlin
Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky’s dubious status could pose a problem when Moscow and Kiev eventually agree to hold peace talks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday. Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin questioned Zelensky’s legitimacy, noting that his term in office has formally expired.
“Our president has repeatedly said that president Zelensky definitely lost his legitimacy,” Peskov told journalists.
Another issue that “could seriously hinder the peace process” is Zelensky’s 2022 decree that “banned any Ukrainian head of state from engaging in talks with president Putin,” Peskov said.
Zelensky’s presidential term formally expired on May 20. He refused to hold an election in March, citing martial law imposed due to the conflict with Russia. He argued that his mandate has been de facto extended in accordance with Ukrainian law.
Putin stated several times in recent months that analysis of the Ukrainian constitution and other legislation leaves no room for an interpretation that would allow Zelensky to stay in power.
Read more Ukrainian FM says Kiev ready for talks with Russia – China
Citing Article 111 of the Ukrainian constitution, Putin argued in May that Zelensky’s powers should have been transferred to the speaker of Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada.
Verkhovna Rada Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk, however, has insisted that Zelensky is the legitimate head of state and argued that whoever questions his legitimacy is “an enemy.”
Earlier on Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told journalists that Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba made it clear during his trip to Beijing that he was “ready and willing” to hold peace talks with Moscow. Moscow has responded by saying that it would wait for the details on the Ukrainian position. “We have not heard such statements from Kuleba himself,” Peskov said on Wednesday, adding that negotiations are “more preferable” to the continued hostilities.
Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine broke down in the spring of 2022, with both sides accusing each other of making unrealistic demands.
Court Ruling Permits Trudeau Government to Evade Accountability for Vaccine Passport Mandates
A constitutional legal group dedicated to freedoms has criticized a Canadian court’s recent decision to drop charges against four individuals who rejected compliance with a COVID border surveillance initiative, arguing it allowed the federal government to dodge accountability for its targeting of individuals who refused to use a vaccine passport.
Chris Fleury, a lawyer with the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF), expressed mixed feelings about the outcome in a press release. “While it is a personal victory for the clients, they are disappointed at losing the chance to challenge the constitutionality of these unscientific and irrational quarantine mandates,” he stated.
Fleury highlighted that this ruling is yet another instance where the government, under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, avoided responsibility for COVID policies that potentially infringe on the rights enshrined in Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The controversy involves the City of Mississauga dropping charges against four Canadians at Toronto Pearson International Airport who refused to adhere to the requirements of the ArriveCAN app, which was fraught with scandals and cost almost $60 million, far exceeding its original budget. The app, mandatory from November 2020, was used to monitor the vaccination status of individuals entering Canada and to implement necessary quarantines.
Mark Spence, Aaron Grubb, and Evan Kraayenbrink faced charges for their refusal to use the ArriveCAN app and were also directed to quarantine. However, these charges were subsequently dropped as prosecutors deemed pursuing these cases a misuse of public resources and potentially a way to prevent judicial examination of the app’s constitutionality.
The escalated cost of the ArriveCAN app, originally estimated at $80,000 and rocketing to $60 million amid technical and privacy issues, led to public outcry and a formal investigation by Canadian Auditor General Karen Hogan in November 2022 after the House of Commons voted for a full audit.
The Party of Death: Poll Finds 30% of Democrats Wish Trump had Been Killed in the Assassination Attempt
A snap poll has found that nearly a third of Democratic voters wish that former President Donald Trump had been killed in the assassination.
The poll, conducted by UnHerd on July 18, reveals that 30 percent of Democratic voters agree with the statement “I wish Trump’s assassin hadn’t missed” and only 70 percent are relieved that the would-be assassin failed. The poll used a concealed technique called a list experiment to allow respondents to express their true feelings on the matter anonymously.
Survey analyst Ethan Kaufmann, a professor of politics at the University of Buckingham, noted that the findings indicate that support for the assassination attempt does not significantly vary by age, race or education. Instead, the divide is deeply rooted in ideology and partisanship. Notably, respondents’ views on race and political morality were strong indicators of their stance on the assassination attempt.
For instance, 55 percent of Democratic respondents agree with the statement “White Republicans are racist” and only 20 percent of them disagree. This belief strongly correlates with their views on the assassination attempt. In a statistical model controlling for demographic characteristics, ideology and partisanship, the perception of White Republicans as racist emerged as a significant predictor of support for the assassination.
Another poll reveals 33% of Democratic supporters believe Trump staged the assassination
Another survey by Morning Consult reveals that 33 percent of Democratic supporters believe that Trump staged the assassination attempt against himself and 20 percent of all the respondents find the theory “credible.”
Furthermore, 38 percent of respondents blamed Trump for the incident, attributing the surge of violence in American politics to his supposedly divisive political rhetoric. In comparison, 29 percent held President Joe Biden responsible for his own demonization of conservatives. Another 31 percent blamed Republicans and 25 percent pointed fingers at Democrats. This belief highlights the deep-seated suspicions and conspiracy theories that continue to pervade American political discourse.
Even host Joy Reid of MSNBC remains skeptical of the official account of the incident, struggling to accept that Trump narrowly escaped an assassination attempt by a disturbed individual who authorities failed to stop in time. Reid has even suggested that Trump may have been struck by “glass,” despite clear photographic evidence of a bullet whizzing past his head.
“The poll suggests that over one-third of Democratic voters think Trump is Neo from the Matrix, able to dodge a bullet with his head as the bullet travels 3,000 feet per second,” commented Colin Rugg, reflecting on the absurdity of the belief held by a substantial minority of voters.
These findings are particularly ironic given the media’s long-standing portrayal of Trump supporters as prone to concocting “fake news” and indulging in conspiracy theories. This poll underscores that such tendencies are not confined to one side of the political spectrum.
The poll results, including the one conducted by UnHerd, reflect the complex and often contradictory nature of public opinion in today’s polarized political climate, where conspiracy theories and blame-shifting abound.
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