Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has blamed the ‘political right’ and social media for a global ‘anti-authoritarian movement’.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Sunday that social media and the political right are exacerbating “culture wars and divisions” to advance the “anti-authoritarian movement” worldwide.
MSNBC host Jane Psaki He questioned Trudeau about his decision to resign, which was announced on January 6, and whether it had to do with a global trend toward incumbent leaders or his own low approval ratings.
Trudeau admitted “it may be a little bit of everything,” but said that despite the good work he’s done, there’s “still lingering frustration with incumbents” over the influence of social media.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau discussed his resignation on MSNBC on Sunday. (MSNBC screenshot)
Conservative Online’s reaction to Justin Trudeau’s resignation: ‘Continues to win!’
“Where I stand is all the good things we’ve been able to do,” Trudeau said. “We’ve made policies in Canada that are going to make a difference for decades to come. And I think we’re seeing a time in politics now where emotions and social media are driving people’s feelings about things.”
Psaki has written about Trudeau’s criticism of the Liberal Party and the US Democratic Party as being “out of touch with the public” and whether there might be lessons from power to counter that view.
Trudeau urged progressives to focus on the economy and credited Canada with success in ensuring “lower barriers to participation in the workforce for minorities and women and vulnerable people.”
“You can easily turn this into a lively argument of ‘you only work for minorities and women and don’t take care of the economy,'” he admits.
Trudeau speaks to the media outside Rideau Cottage in Ottawa on Monday, Jan. 6. (AP/Adrian Wilde/The Canadian Press)
“Well, the political right and, frankly, the ability of social media to create that kind of dynamic can devolve into culture wars and divisions, which are not against the hard economic reality of the growth we’ve been able to do. That’s part of the challenge we have to create in Canada,” Trudeau said.
“And that’s part of the challenge we’re facing as a world right now, where people don’t want to hear reasonable, rational answers, medium- and long-term policies.”
Click here for more media and culture coverage
He continued, “They want things to improve immediately. And you have people promising to improve things immediately, which is sometimes very attractive, although the ability to do so is not always clear.”
Trudeau pointed to social media as fueling a negative view of Canada’s economy. (Arlene McDorey/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Last year Trudeau began to see Record low approval ratings Criticism from his own party on price gouging and inflation is mounting.
Click here to access the FOX NEWS app
