Just when we thought the federal Liberals’ cross-border charm offensive was cooling down, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pops up as the subject of a glowing cover story in Rolling Stone magazine.
The 6,500-word piece mostly casts Canada under Trudeau as an enviable fairyland compared to an America under President Donald Trump (the profile was published online on Wednesday morning, the same day that Trump tweeted his intention to bar transgender people from serving in the U.S. military), and touches on everything from his Trump-management strategy, to his boxing match with former senator Patrick Brazeau, to his flashy socks. The magazine didn’t exactly play coy with its headlines, asking, “Justin Trudeau: Why Can’t He Be Our President?” and calling PMJT “The North Star.”
The response was swift, and invited — to the surprise of no one — markedly different takes, depending on which side of the border, or political spectrum, you’re on.
I'm crushin' on Trudeau…
This is exactly the kind of person we need to head the dems… https://t.co/jMNPq1Kwxo— Diana Burns (@dianajohn821) July 26, 2017
Justin Trudeau may have just become the first man to get the Hollywood-actress horny-profile treatment https://t.co/cOeLJ3vqQB
— The Cut (@TheCut) July 26, 2017
Some Canadians, tired of the gush-fest around Trudeau, found the profile fell flat (this include some Canadian journalists, who’ve been watching the American media’s fascination with Trudeau since that notorious photo shoot in Vogue. They were not amused. Well, maybe a little bit amused).
Like, you could swap the text, change a few names, and I'm pretty sure most readers wouldn't know the difference pic.twitter.com/q1pAbO9eHr
— Robyn Urback (@RobynUrback) July 26, 2017
WELL THEN TAKE HIM
LET ME KNOW HOW IT GOES pic.twitter.com/NMlcsitVNY
— Scaachi (@Scaachi) July 26, 2017
weird that rolling stone buried the lede of its trudeau profile halfway through pic.twitter.com/nkpBecIU7e
— tannara 🌾 (@tyelland) July 26, 2017
Canadians were also quick to point out ham-fisted errors any Canadian copy editor or fact checker would’ve caught (for example, the Liberal Party was referred to as the “Liberty” Party). The errors were swiftly corrected online.
This Rolling Stone thing on Trudeau is fine as a profile aimed at a foreign audience. But it's full of stuff like: https://t.co/Uo1FCWDabd pic.twitter.com/KynmQR28dF
— David Reevely (@davidreevely) July 26, 2017
Anyhow, back to covering this Liberty government under the eye of the mountain police.
— Josh Wingrove (@josh_wingrove) July 26, 2017
And then there were those pointing out Canada is far from paradise and suggesting that Trudeau is perhaps not quite the magical progressive unicorn the international media make him out to be.
LOTS to dislike about Trudeau, but esp embarrassing for RS – with its environmentalist record – to put this pro-pipeline guy on the cover https://t.co/UqrzXTQb34
— Eric Renner Brown (@ericrennerbrown) July 26, 2017
Trudeau is cool and all but still has plenty of problematic policies. I think this weird lionizing of him is going to backfire bigly.
— Calvin (@calvinstowell) July 26, 2017
Good news, however, for Canada’s Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and Youth (aka Trudeau): The kids seem to be totally stoked about the RS cover.
LETS TALK ABOUT HOw JUSTIN FREAKING TRUDEAU IS ON THE COVER OF ROLLING STONE IM DEAD WHATTA GUY
— Jade Mozzarella (@jadezavarella) July 26, 2017
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