Trade Minister David Parker said the decision “disappoints the government”. However, even your old mutt could see the chances of NZ gaining exemption were about as realistic as a Clarke Gayford rumour. It is hard to see the Donald favourably responding to NZ when our own PM Jacinda Ardern was front and centre of the protest marches held here when Trump was first elected. It’s time she learnt that, unlike student politics, real-world politics means what you do and say about our allies can have real-world consequences for our economy.