Donald Trump continues to suggest that he believes Canada should become the 51st state in the United States. However, in a recent social media post, he made it evident that he doesn’t fully understand how the country’s government operates.
Earlier this month, Donald Trump publicly claimed that Canada should join the United States as the 51st state, even baselessly asserting that “many Canadians” support the idea.
“No one can answer why we subsidize Canada to the tune of over $100,000,000 a year? Makes no sense! Many Canadians want Canada to become the 51st State. They would save massively on taxes and military protection. I think it is a great idea. 51st State!!!” Trump wrote on Truth Social earlier this month.
On Wednesday afternoon, Trump revisited the idea, this time offering a new suggestion: that NHL legend Wayne Gretzky should “run for Prime Minister of Canada.”
“I just left Wayne Gretzky, ‘The Great One’ as he is known in Ice Hockey circles. I said, ‘Wayne, why don’t you run for Prime Minister of Canada, soon to be known as the Governor of Canada – You would win easily, you wouldn’t even have to campaign.’ He had no interest, but I think the people of Canada should start a DRAFT WAYNE GRETZKY Movement. It would be so much fun to watch!” Trump posted on Truth Social.
The issue with this statement is that Trump inadvertently demonstrated a lack of understanding of Canada’s government system.
Unlike the United States, the Canadian Prime Minister is not directly elected by the public, nor does someone simply “run” for the position. Instead, the leader of the political party that wins the most seats in the House of Commons becomes the Prime Minister and forms the federal government.
Regardless of Gretzky’s individual popularity in Canada, he wouldn’t “win easily” and become Prime Minister, as Trump suggests, because that’s not how the process works.
Needless to say, it’s pretty terrible and embarrassing news for Trump that he does not understand the government of one of the nation’s closest allies, and it led to a lot of reactions on social media.
“You don’t ‘run for Prime Minister’ in Canada. Trump doesn’t know this, because he isn’t smart,” one person wrote on X.
“America, you elected an idiot to be the 47th President,” another person commented.
“Actually, nobody runs for prime minister of Canada; that’s not how our system works,” someone else pointed out.
“Trump is senile,” another person remarked.
“The Prime Minister is elected by their party’s representatives,” someone else clarified.
“He doesn’t know how anything works,” another person concluded.
Clearly, Trump has a limited understanding of how Canada’s political system functions.
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