It’s hard to make Justin Trudeau into a sympathetic figure these days, but an independent journalist from Calgary did just that.
Canadians are fed up with the prime minister, they are tired of his policies, they are tired of his government, they are ready to move on. Yet, when Trudeau was ambushed on a beach while on vacation with his kids last week, he came across as entirely reasonable.
He made the case that, just like every other Canadian, he deserves time off and time away with his family. There are legitimate criticisms to be raised about the cost of Trudeau’s vacations, how often he takes them or how he opted for the most expensive places early in his tenure.
There is no doubt, though, that he should be able to enjoy time at the beach with his kids without being ambushed by people looking to interview him.
“Sorry, sir, I’ll just ask you super quickly, your minister says you’re going on vacation,” Keean Bexte calls out to Trudeau.
Bexte is editor-in-chief of a Calgary-based outlet that covers Alberta and federal politics. He has engaged in ambush-style interview tactics before, which is fine, especially when politicians are in public but not wanting to answer questions – which most don’t want to do.
As Bexte is trying to ask his questions, Trudeau is trying to walk toward his 10 year-old son, who is playing in the water on the beach. Bexte walks closer, Trudeau tries to push him away and Bexte objects to the contact.
“Don’t put your hands on me,” Bexte says.
It’s not like Trudeau was pushing him hard or trying to beat him up, he was just trying to distance himself from someone accosting him on a beach. Shortly after that, Trudeau’s RCMP security detail intervenes and tries to put themselves between Trudeau and Bexte.
This could have gone very badly for Trudeau at this point.
We’ve seen RCMP officers act like goons to people just asking Trudeau or his ministers questions. We’ve seen people, including Bexte, seemingly being arrested for having the wrong views.
The worst that has happened to me is that I was eventually excluded from Trudeau’s news conferences during the pandemic by a man I had previously worked with and thought knew better.
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Bexte’s frustration at being excluded from asking Trudeau questions is understandable, as is his desire to chase him down on a beach in Tofino, B.C., to try to confront him. For most voters, though, the tactic likely backfired because outside of those who hate Trudeau for waking up in the morning, most saw a man trying to spend time with his family.
“My son was just out there in the water, splashing around and he came to see me because he was so excited that I came up to see him and he instead saw me giving an interview, being prime minister again and right now he just wants me to be dad,” Trudeau said.
Trudeau raised the fact that it is hard to get people in all parties to agree to engage in politics because of the personal sacrifice involved, including having their family time sacrificed.
“Do you think that kids who grow up in a prime minister’s family deserve to have a normal-ish life with their family?” Trudeau asked.
“Absolutely,” Bexte answered, while continuing to pepper Trudeau with questions on the beach as he walked away from his son in the water.
Trudeau said that trying to convince people to step up and enter politics is becoming more difficult due to instances like this. He is absolutely correct; this is part of what makes good people think twice about entering public service.
You can hate Trudeau and his policies and still believe the man should be able to have time with his family. And if you don’t think that is true, then you can’t complain when people do the same thing to the politician you support.
There is a time and a place for asking politicians questions on camera. When they are at the beach with their kids, that is not the time.