President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he will call the United States men’s national hockey team ahead of their rematch against Canada in the 4 Nations Face-Off championship.
Trump hopes the call will encourage the star-studded U.S. team to defeat its rival to the north, and he took the opportunity to poke fun at Canada amid political tensions, according to the president’s statement posted to Truth Social.
“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,” Trump said.
Hockey fans around the country hoped that the president would attend the championship game in Boston after the U.S. team general manager Bill Guerin said the team would “love it” if Trump went to the game.
“We have a room full of proud American players and coaches and staff,” Guerin told Fox News’s America’s Newsroom earlier this week. “We’re just trying to represent our country the best way we can.”
WEX Rewind: USA Hockey GM says team would 'love' to have Trump attend championship game against Canada!
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) February 19, 2025
READ: https://t.co/aT6x71G0B4 pic.twitter.com/IMPw6N0GaT
Trump will not be able to attend the final due to the annual National Governors Association Winter Meeting but said he would be watching and invited Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to join him.
“I will be speaking before the Governors tonight in D.C., and will sadly, therefore, be unable to attend,” Trump’s statement read. “But we will all be watching, and if Governor Trudeau would like to join us, he would be most welcome.”
HOW SERIOUS IS TURMP ABOUT MAKING CANADA THE 51st STATE?
Trudeau attended the first game between the United States and Canada on Saturday in Montreal, where the U.S. won 3-1 and Canadian fans booed the National Anthem.
The 4 Nations Face-Off championship game will be held in Boston’s TD Garden at 8:00 p.m. EST and will air on multiple platforms, including ESPN, ESPN+, and Disney+.