After Justin Trudeau announced his intention to resign as Prime Minister of Canada, President-elect Trump had a plan for his successor.
After Trudeau’s decision, Trump continued his efforts to make the northern neighbor the 51st state of the United States.
Trudeau said there was no “snowball chance in hell” that would ever happen, but if it did, Trump says he recruited Wayne Gretzky to be his “governor.”
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON PK Press Club
Donald Trump shakes hands with former NHL star Wayne Gretzky before leaving the Barclays at Plainfield Country Club in Edison, New Jersey. (Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire/Corbis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
“I was with Wayne Gretzky. I said, ‘Wayne, would you like to be governor of Canada?’ I can’t imagine anyone doing it better than Wayne,” Trump said Thursday at Mar-a-Lago.
“Wayne wasn’t too interested. But he probably would have liked statehood,” Trump said. “He’s a friend of mine. He’s a great guy. He’s the big one. We call him the big one, right? He’s a great hockey player.”
Gretzky attended a victory party for Trump’s 2024 election victory after Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris.
Wayne Gretzky reacts on the second hole during the third round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am at Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, California on February 8, 2020. (Michael Madrid/USA Today Sports)
VIKINGS-RAMS PLAYOFF MATCH AWAY FROM LOS ANGELES DUE TO WILDFIRES
Gretzky’s son-in-law, Dustin Johnson, competes on the LIV Golf Tour, which has played tournaments at Trump’s golf courses.
Trump said Canada should be a state during a news conference Tuesday in Palm Beach. On Monday, the president-elect said in a social media post that “many people in Canada LOVE being the 51st state.”
“Together, what a great Nation it would be!!!” Trump exclaimed in his post on social networks.
Trudeau announced his intention to resign as party leader and prime minister after mounting pressure from within his own Liberal party, amid increased criticism of his handling of the economy and threats made by Trump. He said he would resign once the party chose a new leader.
Wayne Gretzky of the Edmonton Oilers, right, shakes hands with Greg Gilbert (17) of the New York Islanders after the Islanders defeated the Oilers in Game 4 of the 1983 Stanley Cup Final, May 17 1983, at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, NY (Bruce Bennett Studios via Getty Images Studios/Getty Images)
Trudeau, who led the country for nearly a decade, has been grappling for months with significant drops in his approval ratings facing growing frustration over issues such as the soaring cost of living and rising inflation.
