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IrelandKagan to Canada: don't mistake Trump's setback for a reset
Andrew Coyne's Talking Heads guest sees a reprieve for American democracy, but urges Canada to build trade and defense relationships beyond Washington.
The Globe and Mail
Story of Why this story? The video opened at a pace of 59,543 views a day, 14 times a normal first day on this channel (4,414).
The midterms, Trump and Canada | Talking Heads with Andrew Coyne
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- 2:14Kagan argues that Democratic victories in state offices have substantially reduced the danger of an authoritarian power grab.
- 5:13Coyne asks whether a more capable authoritarian could reconstruct Trump's coalition.
- 20:29Coyne questions subpoena enforcement; Kagan argues private presidential allies lack the president's immunity.
- 22:25Kagan advises Canada to resist Trump's pressure and maintain ties with congressional Democrats.
- 24:34Kagan says Canada and Europe must become more self-reliant rather than depend on American guarantees.
Robert Kagan offers Andrew Coyne an unusually optimistic assessment of American democracy, then a much less reassuring one for America's allies. Democratic victories have weakened Donald Trump, he argues, but Canada should not expect the old international order to return.
The conversation on The Globe and Mail's Talking Heads drew about 32,000 views in its first nine hours, already well beyond the channel's usual full-day audience for regular videos. Its central tension is more interesting than a simple post-election verdict: can Trump's political project suffer a serious setback without restoring confidence in the United States?
Kagan, a foreign policy scholar at the Brookings Institution, sees Democratic gains in governorships and state offices as particularly important safeguards against an authoritarian power grab. He also argues that election administrators and institutions have held firm despite Trump's challenges to the results.
Coyne presses the distinction between defeating a leader and dismantling the politics around him. "Does breaking with Trump mean breaking with Trumpism?" he asks. He also raises the possibility that a more capable authoritarian could rebuild Trump's coalition, and questions how Congress can enforce accountability if a president refuses to cooperate.
The Canadian question arrives late in the interview, when Coyne asks what a weakened Trump means for trade and tariffs. Kagan's answer is to resist pressure while maintaining relationships with congressional Democrats. "My personal advice would be to hang tough and try to build the bridges," he says.
That is not advice to wait for Washington to return to normal. Kagan argues that American fatigue with foreign intervention runs deeper than Trump, and that Canada and Europe need greater self-reliance rather than the security guarantees they once took for granted.
An American columnist and foreign policy analyst, Kagan is a neoconservative scholar and a prominent supporter of liberal internationalism.
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- Channel
- The Globe and Mail
- Subscribers
- 266,000 ▲ 1,000 this week
- Channel views, last 7 days
- 471,516
- Channel views, pace per day
- 37,535 (on a normal day: 111,281)
- Video published
- November 9, 2026
- Video views so far
- 32,428 (less than a day online)
- Video views, pace per day
- 59,543
The numbers
The interview has already surpassed the channel's usual first-day views for regular videos, despite being only nine hours old.
💡 Test your knowledge
Who hosts The Globe and Mail's Talking Heads?
Andrew Coyne hosts Talking Heads and interviews Robert Kagan in this episode.