U.S. President Donald Trump repeated his annexationist rhetoric toward Canada ahead of the 4 Nations Face-Off final between Canada and the U.S. Thursday night.
“I’ll be calling our GREAT American Hockey Team this morning to spur them on towards victory tonight against Canada,” Trump said in a Thursday .
“With FAR LOWER TAXES AND MUCH STRONGER SECURITY, (Canada) will someday, maybe soon, become our cherished, and very important, Fifty First State.”
The red hats are always hassling me to say something nice about their hero.
The red hats are always hassling me to say something nice about their hero.
The general manager of U.S. team, Minnesota Wild GM Bill Guerin, previously told Fox News he would “love” for Trump to be in attendance for Thursday’s game. But the American President said he would not be able to make it, explaining that he will be addressing governors in Washington D.C.
“But we will all be watching, and if Governor Trudeau would like to join us, he would be most welcome,” he said.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt doubled down later Thursday when she said Trump was looking forward to watching the game and added: “And we look forward to the United States beating our soon-to-be 51st state, Canada.”
The biggest men’s hockey game between Canada and the U.S. in more than a decade was a nailbiter
Trump followed through on his promise to call the U.S. team, speaking with the players for five minutes Thursday morning. The team attempted to connect through Zoom but ultimately used U.S. general manager Bill Guerin’s phone on speaker for the conversation.
“It was cool, right? It’s the president of the United States,” U.S. defenceman Brock Faber said. “When you’re a kid, you don’t really think that that’s ever going to be a possibility, but it’s really cool.”
Faber said Trump’s message was simple: “Just have fun, enjoy it. It was pretty quick, but just enjoy the pride of wearing the red, white and blue.”
U.S. forward J.T. Miller echoed the sentiment.
“It was pretty cool. So awesome to hear the support,” said Miller. “It’s a pretty big deal for him to take time out of his schedule to talk to us for five minutes, and just another one of those things where we’re kind of pinching ourselves this tournament. It’s been really fun so far, and seeing the support from everybody up to the president, it’s been pretty wild.”
According to U.S. defenceman Zach Werenski, Trump did not mention the 51st state suggestion during the call but did share golf stories.
Trump declares himself “king” on social media
Trump’s comments came a day after he , after his administration moved to end New York City’s congestion pricing program.
“CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED,” Trump wrote. “LONG LIVE THE KING!”
The official White House account later reposted his quote on Instagram and X, alongside what appears to be an  resembling a TIME Magazine cover depicting Trump wearing a crown.
The arena’s public address announcer asked spectators to respect both anthems, but many chose to ignore the request.
The arena’s public address announcer asked spectators to respect both anthems, but many chose to ignore the request.
Trump’s “51st state” comments, as well as his threatened tariffs against his country’s northern neighbour, have raised tensions between Canada and the U.S. Hockey fans in Montreal loudly booed the American national anthem ahead of Saturday’s 4 Nations game, drawing the ire of U.S. players and fans alike.
Guerin called the booing “inspiration” for his team, which eked out a win against the Canadians after a skilful, fight-laden contest. “Canada-U.S. is a huge rivalry in hockey,” Guerin said. “I think there was a little bit of a political flare to it, it’s just the time that we’re in.”
Thursday’s showdown will take place at 8 p.m. at TD Garden in Boston.
“Good luck to everybody, and have a GREAT game tonight,” Trump finished. “So exciting!”
With files from Hayden Godfrey and The Canadian Press
To join the conversation set a first and last name in your user profile.
Sign in or register for free to join the Conversation