OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Sometimes people may wonder what planet the administration of President Joe Biden is on when it comes to world events.
On Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki was asked about the Canadian trucker protests that are happening, and her response was to insist that they were not related to vaccine mandates.
“Truckers in Canada last night shut down the Ambassador Bridge, which carries about a quarter of U.S.-Canada trading goods. So what’s the administration’s response to this action? And what steps are being taken to ensure the free flow of goods? And also, any preventative steps being taken to address a possible blockade on the Michigan side of that bridge?” the reporter said.
But before answering the specific question he asked, Psaki insisted on declaring that the protests were not about the vaccine mandates, which no one asked.
Psaki tries and fails miserably at gaslighting on hero Canadian truckers— dismissing their MASSIVE protest as "sporadic congestion and blockages" and "not related" to the vaccine mandate
They think you're stupid. pic.twitter.com/NniTOHMtb4
— Danny De Urbina (@dannydeurbina) February 8, 2022
“Well, let me first start by saying: I know there’s been some suggestion — not by reporters necessarily at all — but that this congestion is related to the vaccine requirements. It’s not. I mean, I — I’m saying — I’m going to get to the protests. But the protests going on across Canada, which have spread to a bridge, are leading to sporadic congestion and blockages,” the press secretary said.
“I would — just to go back to my point I was trying to make is that across — what we’ve seen with these requirements is, across indus- — a range of industries, vaccine — vaccination requirements have been implemented with no disruptions, have helped increase vaccinations.
“These requirements help protect more people from COVID. And there’s been zero indication across these industries that they would lead to disruptions, including on this policy,” she said.
“We, of course, support, as you know, the right to freedom of speech and protest. But we — and while we do see some of these congestions due to protests, this is clear that these disruptions have broadened in scope beyond the vaccine requirement implementation.
“We — beyond that, we are, of course, in touch with our Canadian counterparts, but I don’t have any updates in terms of specific steps,” she said.
We do not want to tell her why the truckers are protesting, but we will allow others to, like the BBC.
“The movement was sparked by a vaccine mandate for truckers crossing the US-Canada border, implemented by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government earlier this month,” The BBC reported.
“Upset with the new measure that would require unvaccinated Canadian truckers crossing the two nations’ boundary to quarantine once they’ve returned home, a loose coalition of truckers and conservative groups began to organize the cross-country drive that began in western Canada,” it said.
The BBC could be incorrect. How about what The Boston Globe reported?
“Over the weekend, thousands of protesters converged on the Canadian capital to call for an end to pandemic restrictions and vaccine mandates they denounced as government overreach, a demonstration that grew raucous at times with some participants harassing soup kitchen workers, brandishing flags and signs with Nazi symbols, and desecrating a war memorial,” The Boston Globe reported.
“The protests began as a convoy of truckers rallying against a new vaccine mandate for truck drivers crossing the United States-Canada border, and those taking part were generally peaceful as they traveled across the country. But the loosely organized convoy garnered additional support and picked up speed along the way, morphing into a broader challenge of public health restrictions designed to combat the pandemic and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada before it eventually congregated in Ottawa on Saturday. Trudeau has strongly condemned their actions,” it said.
The BBC and Boston Globe, and there are others, are pretty good sources. Someone should ask Psaki if those news organizations are incorrect.
