“Why aren’t they wearing skates?”

As U.S. President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sat down for tricky talks in Ottawa this morning, their wives visited the nearby Rideau Curling Club.

Sophie Grégoire Trudeau and Dr. Jill Biden were escorted onto ice level, where they observed game action and gained knowledge from club member Howard Rajala, who will skip Canada’s men’s squad at the world senior championships in Korea next month.

It was clearly Dr. Biden’s first time seeing the sport, as she reportedly asked why the players weren’t wearing skates.

After posing for photos, Grégoire Trudeau and Biden sat with some junior curlers to talk sports and mental health.

If there had been any prior suggestion of their men—the prime minister and president—hitting the Rideau and trying the sport, I suspect U.S. negotiators would have immediately quashed the idea.

Even amongst political allies and friends—we are still friends, right?—there are concerns about public image appearances. The age difference between the two leaders and their apparent abilities on the ice would have been an American concern.

Heck, when it comes to the 80-year old U.S. leader, the word “ice” has to be an immediate deterrent.

I visualize the Canadian party planners then suggesting Biden could deliver a stone with a throwing stick … and the Americans simply staring back across the table.

Back in 2009, U.S. president Barack Obama made Canada his first official state visit—as is the apparent custom, although that didn’t happen with Biden nor Trump—and we jested about him visiting one of Ottawa’s many curling facilities.

The impetus was then-prime minister Stephen Harper who, as a big curling fan, had visited multiple curling events during his time in office.

It should be noted that Justin Trudeau has dropped in on a curling championship, but only because bad weather made him miss a flight.

In 2018, the prime minister visited the Continental Cup in London, Ont., the site of this year’s Canadian men’s Brier championship.

I recall Marc Kennedy being positioned close to JT and when talking to the press afterward, being as political as one could possibly be.

“Being a conservative from Alberta, it was nice to talk to Mr. Trudeau, a Liberal,” Kennedy was quoted as saying.