Where did he call it a cohesive counterweight? It is a partial hedge against the impetuous decisions of dangerously unpredictable US leadership. Stop gaslighting.
He can't be believing what he's saying, right?
U.S. dominance comes from not only headcount but also productivity, capital markets, military capacity, and a single, unified economic and political system. Canada, Ireland, and the EU are not a single country, don’t share unified fiscal policy, and don’t act with one voice on foreign or economic policy.
“Similar GDP” is also misleading. The U.S. economy is far more integrated, innovative, and risk-tolerant, with deeper capital markets and significantly higher per‑capita output than most of Europe.
Culturally, the U.S. still sets the global standard in media, tech platforms, and entertainment distribution. Europe and Canada have produced great content, but their global reach for that content is far more limiting (some of it due to their own domestic regulations.)
Argue for closer cooperation across the Atlantic? Sure. But pretending it’s already a cohesive counterweight to the U.S. is wishful thinking, not serious analysis.
If you would have thought one person would know that, it would have this "smart businessman/central banker" guy.