On Tuesday I had the great honor of sitting in for Rush on America's Number One radio show. You can find a few moments from the show here, which began with the arrival of President and Mme Macron at the White House and moved on to other pressing issues of the day, such as the Trump travel ban, lessons from the Toronto mass murders, and whether a macaca monkey has enforceable copyrights.
Along the way I briefly noted a memorable moment in the history of great power diplomacy, as the American president tenderly brushed a piece of alleged "dandruff" off the French president. It wasn't clear to me that M Macron was familiar with the English word for pellicules, and, given his general diminutive nattiness, it would seem more likely to have been a stray flake of French Embassy croissant than anything requiring specialized scalp treatment.
Trump then explained that "we have to make him perfect", but added, "He is perfect." Eat your heart out, Theresa May. Two great allies, head and shoulder to shoulder:
The bromance doesn't seem to have anything to do with actual policy: As I said on air, Trump is against the Iran nuclear deal, Macron is in favour of it; Trump rejects the Paris climate agreement, Macron supports it; Trump likes way younger women, Macron likes way older women... Nevertheless, they have connected in a way that Trump and Merkel or Trump and May or Obama and anyone have not.
A month or two down the road it would be easy to see Trump and Kim Jong-Un in similarly tactile intimacy: "Rocket Man, you've got a terrific place here. All it needs is a Trump Resort & Casino. What kind of zoning process do you guys have..? You're gonna be winning so much you'll be sick of it... Is that a piece of dandruff on your shoulder or fallout ash?" Etc.
~If you like me in non-visual formats, I'll be back on the radio north of the border today, Wednesday, with the great John Oakley, live at 5pm Eastern on Toronto's AM640.
~I mentioned on air that Mr Snerdley and I would be appearing together in Lakeland, Florida on May 4th. It's like the Rush Limbaugh Roadshow - except for the, er, lack of Rush. Hamlet without the Prince, as the theatricals say. But it should be a fun night, and you can find more details here.
Before that - tomorrow, in fact - I'll be live on stage at the Ethan Allen Institute 25th birthday bash in Vermont - and don't forget that 15 per cent discount if you enter the promo code EAIMARK. For more information, you can email here.
~Following my stunning victory in the CRTV vs Steyn suit, Cary Katz, CRTV's boss and sole investor, has taken the unusual step of suing his own company in order to render them bankrupt and unable to pay me what two judges have told them to pay. We were fortunate to be tipped off to these slimy shenanigans by eagle-eyed lawyers in the Vegas area. Notwithstanding the curses I rain down on American courts and all their works, we have a remarkable number of attorneys among our readers. So, if you're the sort of chap who's in and out of the county courthouse fairly regularly, do let us know if you spot any other attempts to evade Judge Bransten's and Judge Gordon's orders via fraudulent property transfer or other sleazy machinations. We are particularly interested in the following jurisdictions: the District of Columbia, northern Virginia, New York, Florida, Texas, Colorado, Missouri, Iowa, California and, of course, Nevada.
~We opened The Mark Steyn Club last year, and I'm thrilled by all those SteynOnline supporters across the globe - from Fargo to Fiji, Vancouver to Vanuatu, Surrey to the Solomon Islands - who've signed up to be a part of it. My only regret, as we approach our first birthday, is that I wish we'd started it fifteen years ago. We have some special anniversary observances coming up in May, and, if you'd like to be part of them, you can find more information about the Club here - and, if you've a pal who might like this sort of thing, don't forget our special Gift Membership.
See you on the radio up north in a few hours.