Rewriting history and hoping no one notices

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 06/02/2025 (221 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Those who forget history are, sadly, doomed to be duped all over again.

In the White House on Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump took some time to talk about Canada being tough on trade and how this country has hurt the U.S.: “I look at some of the deals made. I say, ‘Who the hell made these deals? They’re so bad.’”

We present to you a stage play entirely based on history, taken from a transcript produced by the Trump White House itself.

The curtain rises on the South Lawn of the White House, Jan. 29, 2020. Here is the official transcript of the “Remarks by President Donald Trump at a Signing Ceremony for the United States-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement.” Approximately 400 people sit in the audience. It’s 11:11 a.m., Eastern Standard Time.

Cue the president, Donald Trump: “We have a tremendous — (applause) — we have a tremendous list of people here today. In fact, so long that if I announced every name, we’d be here for about three hours. (Laughter.) And we have to get back to business. Everybody does.

“Please sit down. Please.

“But I want to thank everybody for coming — coming to the White House on this very momentous, historic, and joyous occasion. It’s been a long time. Everybody said this was a deal that could not be done. ‘Too complicated, too big. It couldn’t be done.’ We got it done.

“And today, we’re finally ending the NAFTA nightmare and signing into law the brand-new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. (Applause.) Very special. Very, very special.

“The USMCA is the largest, fairest, most balanced, and modern trade agreement ever achieved. There’s never been anything like it. Other countries are now looking at it, but there can’t be a border like that because, believe it or not, that is by far the biggest border anywhere in the world, in terms of economy, in terms of people. There’s nothing even close.

“This is a colossal victory for our farmers, ranchers, energy workers, factory workers, and American workers in all 50 states and, you could almost say, beyond — because it’s all beyond. This is all over the world even though it’s at one beautiful border — where, by the way, a very major powerful wall is, right now, being built. (Laughter.) OK? I don’t know if I should say that at this particular reading. I know last night it got a very big hand. (Laughter.) Today, they’re a little bit like, ‘Are we supposed to clap now?’ (Laughter.)

“The USMCA is estimated to add another 1.2 per cent to our GDP and create countless new American jobs. It will make our blue-collar boom — which is beyond anybody’s expectation — even bigger, stronger, and more extraordinary, delivering massive gains for the loyal citizens of our nation.

“For the first time in American history, we have replaced a disastrous trade deal that rewarded outsourcing with a truly fair and reciprocal trade deal that will keep jobs, wealth, and growth right here in America. (Applause.) And, in a true sense, it’s also a partnership with Mexico and Canada and ourselves against the world. It’s really a trade partnership, if you look at it that way. And it’s a day of great celebration in all three countries.”

And this week, that “truly fair and reciprocal trade deal” got balled up and thrown in the trash by a tariff-based attack on trade — currently on pause.

“Truly fair” or “so bad”? “We got it done” or “Who the hell signed these deals?” War is peace. Ignorance is strength.

George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four — “The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.”

Don’t forget history, or let anyone gloss it over or rewrite it — or you’ll live it again.