Norwegian PM Jonas Gahr Støre: "I can hardly think of any bilateral partnership which is moving forward at the pace we do now with Canada, Canada and Norway."

Bob Rae: We are certainly seeing a shift in the level of confidence that a number of countries have in the US because of the instability and the erratic nature of its government. Its government is stating to the whole world that they feel a lot closer to Russia and to North Korea than they feel to allies. Which is, when you say it out loud — how could that possibly be? But that's what we're hearing. That's what they're saying. We were not kidding when we signed the UN Charter. We didn't sign it in pencil. And we weren't kidding when we signed free trade agreements. We didn't sign those in pencil either. And so now we're facing what I would say again is an erratic, entirely unpredictable administration that doesn't share some very, very foundational views about what living in a democratic world should look like and what living in a world governed by the rule of law should look like.

Chrétien delivered a balanced, statesmanlike speech underscoring the deep ties between Canada and the U.S. at one of the lowest points in the relationship during an event that embodied those ties. Trump used the occasion to try sell his catastrophic war in Iran, attempting to tie it to 9/11 — on top of skipping the NY event because he couldn't give a speech. There is no comparison.