The prime minister of Canada received a surprise shout-out during Donald Trump's first speech to a joint session of the U.S. Congress on Feb. 28.

Donald Trump clobbered the press about a dozen times in a speech to a conservative gathering. Later in the day, his staff blocked CNN and The New York Times from attending a briefing.

Cue the chuckles in the White House briefing room.

"For every one regulation, two are out. So we knock out two," the president said during a meeting with the retail industry this month.

A historic clash may be erupting between the intelligence apparatus of the United States and the country's democratically elected president, with the high-level intrigue about potential ties to Russia

There were jaw-dropping moments. Flat-out falsehoods. Swings at the media. Feelings of personal grievance. Blasts at his former campaign rival. And a reference to the political upside of war.

Trump told the prime minister that he admired his dad, Pierre, and they'd actually met once — Trump spoke at a 1981 New York City event where the elder Trudeau was the guest of honour.

The U.S. president shelved the type of trash−talking he directed at Mexico during his election campaign and spoke of building ties with Canada.

Trudeau is hardly the first prime minister to deal with a politically problematic president. How did his predecessors handle it?

At long last, the two leaders have scheduled a face-to-face meeting on Monday in Washington, D.C.