OTTAWAâThere he was â centre stage, centre of attention and, curiously, until that moment, at the centre of a quiet diplomatic effort to keep channels open with U.S. President Donald Trump.For former prime minister Brian Mulroney, invited onstage by Canadian musician David Foster to sing at a cancer fundraiser held at Trumpâs private Palm Beach, Fla., resort Saturday night, it was clearly a bit of fun. In that famous baritone voice and with a twinkle in his eye, Mulroney belted out his old favourite, âWhen Irish Eyes Are Smiling,â regaling yet another president.It was an encore performance for Mulroney, who famously sang it with president Ronald Reagan at the so-called Shamrock Summit in Quebec City in 1985.Then, as now, Mulroney was mocked.Read more:Trumpâs revised travel ban to target same countries, senior official saysEND Trumpâs âLast night in Swedenâ remark baffles a nationTrump alliesâ Russia-Ukraine peace plan raises red flagsAfter a businessman posted video of the performance on Twitter, Mulroney was scorned in comments for cosying up to Trump.Mulroney, apparently, couldnât care less. His willingness to share an easy evening with the embattled president at his Mar-a-Lago club appears to have had a singular benefit: Mulroney got a first-hand read on how Trump viewed Mondayâs meetings with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and whether the businesslike rapport they exhibited for the cameras had really been established behind closed doors.According to sources with knowledge of their talks, Trump told Mulroney he thought âJustin did a hell of a jobâ and said he liked the young prime minister â a man who, in so many ways, appears his polar political opposite.Thatâs good news for Canadians â further proof, if any were needed, of the advantage of enlisting Mulroney and his former ambassador, Derek Burney, to help make introductions between Trudeau ...
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