President Donald Trump mocked the Canadian prime minister ahead of a U.S.-Canada hockey face-off, inviting “Governor Trudeau” to watch the game with him.
Canada plays Team USA in Boston on Thursday to decide who wins the 4 Nations Face-Off Tournament after a heated game Saturday in Montreal where several fights broke out on the ice.
Fans of both teams booed each others’ national anthems at previous games, prompting announcers to ask fans to “respect the national anthems and the players that represent each country.”
In a Truth Social post written ahead of the game in Boston, Trump showed little respect for Justin Trudeau.
He wrote that the “Governor” would be welcome to watch the face-off with him and that “someday, maybe soon, [Canada will] become our cherished, and very important, Fifty First State.”
Trump has been repeating the same threat for months, which has taken on a sharper edge since he made threats to use military force to take over Greenland and imposed—then paused—tariffs on Mexico and Canada.
Trump said he was serious about his plan to take over Canada in an interview before the Super Bowl, and Trudeau has also told people that the threat is real.
The tense political atmosphere created by Trump’s comments has also made it onto the ice.
Saturday’s game in Montreal, which the U.S. won 3-1, started with a series of fights between the players, something that’s not common in international hockey competitions.
Trudeau attended the event and posted a video of the Canadian fans’ rousing rendition of “O Canada.”
Trump said he would call the U.S. hockey team before Thursday evening’s game “to spur them on,” after the team’s manager Bill Guerin invited him to attend in person.
The president gave his apologies, saying he would be giving a speech to the Republican Governors Association’s winter meeting instead.
