Below is what happened on Trump’s sixteenth day in office. You can find out what damage was done every other day so far on the Saddest Calendar on the Internet.
After rounding out the weekend eating wedge salads smothered in blue cheese dressing and golfing with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at his Mar-a-Lago estate, Trump is back in his residence with the light switches he can’t quite figure out to spend the day with Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. A pal of Obama, Trudeau is significantly more progressive than Trump in his approach to issues like welcoming refugees, the advancement and protection of women’s rights, and the legalization of marijuana.
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Their meeting included one important topic of which they both have zero personal experience: women in the workforce. According to the Associated Press, up for debate was “maternity leave and childcare, how to recruit and retain women, and how to better support women entrepreneurs.” The article also cites a White House official who requested anonymity, who said that Trump’s “economic agenda will include a ‘focus on ensuring women enter and stay in the workforce and addressing barriers facing female entrepreneurs.”
Trump has been openly criticized for a lack of diversity in his team. So far, Trump has nominated four women for the 22 open positions in his cabinet; by comparison, Obama appointed seven women to his original team. When Trudeau took office, his team consisted of 15 men and 15 women—a first in Canadian history.
Thankfully, Trump and Trudeau did invite a few women to the roundtable. Among top female executives from the US and Canada, also at the meeting were actual women that Trudeau has on his staff: Chief-of-Staff Katie Telford, Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland, and Assistant to the President and Senior Counselor for Economic Initiatives Dina Powell.
Ivanka Trump, a known advocate for maternity care, childcare, and women in the workplace, was also in attendance. Ivanka has also come under fire for alleged sweatshop-like conditions of her shoe factories in China.
