A little friendly smack talk from POTUS, or using hockey to ratchet up the political pressure?
The United States and Canada are facing off tonight in the 4 Nations Face-Off, an international hockey tournament featuring teams from…well, four nations.
Of course the matchup comes at a tense time between the two countries.
President Donald Trump ruffled some Canadian feathers last year when he floated the idea of Canada joining the United States, even trolling Prime Minister Justin Trudeau by referring to him as “Governor Trudeau.”
Trump trolls “Governor” Justin Trudeau of the “Great State of Canada”
pic.twitter.com/9rtby1SfWu
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) December 17, 2024
And a few days into his second term, Trump announced a couple weeks ago that he would be implementing new tariffs on our neighbors to the north while Canadian prime minister and noted blackface enthusiast Justin Trudeau responded by threatening tariffs of his own.
An agreement was eventually reached to delay the tariffs after Canada agreed to pay more for border security, but in response to the standoff between the two world leaders, Canadians have expressed their displeasure with Trump by booing the national anthem any time an NHL team has to play up in maple leaf land.
The first game of the 4 Nations Faceoff between the United States and Canada had a lot of excitement, with Canadian fans once again booing Team USA before puck drop – and the American team responding with back to back fights during the faceoff.
MATTHEW TKACHUK AND BRANDON HAGEL DROP THE GLOVES OFF THE BAT
pic.twitter.com/NlBt1UcHRf
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) February 16, 2025
So yeah, there’s a lot of buzz heading into tonight’s game given the political climate and the history between the two teams.
Ahead of the game, President Donald Trump called Team USA to wish them luck tonight and express his regret for not being able to be in attendance:
Team USA received a call from the President this morning to wish them luck ahead of tonight’s #4Nations championship game. pic.twitter.com/he1kIgUVGW
— USA Hockey (@usahockey) February 20, 2025
And on social media, Trump decided to do a little trolling of his own, once again referring to the Canadian prime minister as “Governor Trudeau” and inviting him to come watch the game with him:
“I’ll be calling our GREAT American Hockey Team this morning to spur them on towards victory tonight against Canada, which with FAR LOWER TAXES AND MUCH STRONGER SECURITY, will someday, maybe soon, become our cherished, and very important, Fifty First State.
I will be speaking before the Governors tonight in D.C., and will sadly, therefore, be unable to attend. But we will all be watching, and if Governor Trudeau would like to join us, he would be most welcome.
Good luck to everybody, and have a GREAT game tonight. So exciting! PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP”
I’ll be calling our GREAT American Hockey Team this morning to spur them on towards victory tonight against Canada, which with FAR LOWER TAXES AND MUCH STRONGER SECURITY, will someday, maybe soon, become our cherished, and very important, Fifty First State. I will be speaking…
— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) February 20, 2025
Classic Trump trash talk. A little trolling with a hint of truth to it.
I think it’s safe to say that the 4 Nations Face-Off has been an incredible success for the NHL and the sport of hockey at large. The league has managed to create a seismic event, pitting the United States, Canada, Finland and Sweden against one another in a round-robin tournament that replaced this year’s NHL All Star event.
Judging by the response (and the ratings) to the event, it would be a mistake for the NHL to ever go back to the traditional all star format. Hell, just schedule a series between the US and Canada so we can keep beating them at their own game.
Go Team USA!
The post President Donald Trump Trolls Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Ahead Of 4 Nations Face-Off Between United States & Canada first appeared on Whiskey Riff.