True (deau) Confessions

 

Viva Frei ponders whether, in this clip, Justin Trudeau is either gaslighting or confessing through projection.

Neither. If you watch and listen carefully, it is confession, straight up.

Trudeau says he was saying “it” as far back as 2015. Saying what? Not that dirty politics is a bad idea, or morally wrong. Parse his sentence. He was saying “dirty politics work. They work to get you elected.”

Who was elected back in 2015?

He is not brave enough to say it more clearly, but he is admitting to using dirty politics to get elected. 

The problem, he goes on to say, is that once you resort to divisive politics, it becomes incredibly hard to govern. You can no longer unify the people.

Who might have discovered this? Who has been governing since 2015? Him. This is what he has learned.

Frei thinks Trudeau is dumping it on someone else when he concludes “That’s what you’re seeing in Canada. A certain number of people who stirred up that.” That is vague, not an honourable confession, but there is no reason to assume that “certain number of people” does not include Trudeau himself. It might mean him and his liberal advisors. 

As he says this, he looks down. He cannot look in the interviewer’s face, or at the camera. This is an admission that he is one of those people.

Frei asks “What’s up with the vocal fry?” That’s his throat thickening. As it does when you are close to tears.

Throughout, Trudeau’s eyes look troubled, like a dog expecting to be hit with a rolled-up newspaper.

Frei imagines some sinister controlling intelligence. What we really see is a frightened child.

Trudeau knows he is trapped, and is looking for sympathy or help.

It helps to have some experience with narcissists. People oddly imagine they are strong personalities. 

They are always frightened children.