Canada has a Ralph Northam problem, but all CNN’s Don Lemon wants to talk about is President Trump. It’s almost as if the blackface itself doesn’t really matter unless you catch the right person wearing it.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued an apology Wednesday evening after Time published a photo from 2001 showing the then-29-year-old dressed in “brownface” for an Arabian Nights-themed party.
“I shouldn’t have done that. I should have known better, but I didn’t and I’m really sorry,” Trudeau told the press. “I take responsibility for my decision to do that. I shouldn’t have done that. I should’ve known better. It was something that I didn’t think was racist at the time but now I recognize that it was something racist to do and I’m deeply sorry.”
He also admitted to having once performed Harry Belafonte’s Banana Boat Song (Day-O) while wearing makeup.
“I am asking Canadians to forgive me for what I did,” Trudeau said. “The fact of the matter is that I’ve always — and you’ll know this — been more enthusiastic about costumes than is sometimes appropriate.”
Again, at the time of the 2001 party, Trudeau was a grown 29-year-old adult. Also, at that point in time, his father had already put in 15 years as Canada’s prime minister. He was not a child when this happened, nor some random college student. In other words, this is not a great situation for Trudeau, especially as his entire brand is that he is the ultra-woke leader of the Western Hemisphere.
For Lemon, however, the story is not so much that Canada’s current prime minister dressed in “brownface” as recently as 2001. Nope! The story is … Donald Trump. Because Lemon is a man obsessed.
“Wow, a leader apologizing. It seems odd, doesn’t it?” Lemon said of Trudeau’s apology. “Because we have one who doesn’t.”
Yes, the story here is not so much that the Canadian prime minister was discovered to have slathered himself in brown makeup to mock minority characters, but that Trump does not apologize for things. I understand being impressed by Trudeau’s public display of contrition, but what does the U.S. president have to do with this? The answer is: Nothing. Lemon simply cannot bring himself to talk about anything else.
“I do have to say this before we go: Think about it however you want to think about it. When someone apologizes — wow!” Lemon added later. “We don’t often see that here, especially in a world leader who is saying ‘I should’ve known better and I’m sorry.’”
The cable anchor added, “You can feel about it however you want, but that, to me, that does mean a lot.”
I feel like we all learned a valuable lesson. Apologies are good, and Trump is bad. Also, something about “brownface.” Don’t get too bogged down in the details.
