U.S. magazine talks up friendship between senior Trudeau, Trump advisers
OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been getting a lot of attention from international media, but now the spotlight has landed on his senior adviser, Gerald Butts, and his dealings with a contentious figure in the White House.
Steve Bannon, the controversial chief strategist to U.S. President Donald Trump, told the New Yorker he struck up a friendship with Butts, the long-time friend and principal secretary to Trudeau, after the pair met in New York during the transition to government.
The magazine reported Bannon, who is apparently on the outs with Trump, has been mulling the idea of raising taxes on the wealthy and that Butts had spoken to him about how such a move could have a populist appeal that could boost the president’s political fortune.
“There’s nothing better for a populist than a rich guy raising taxes on rich guys,” the magazine said Butts had told Bannon.