Trump says Wayne Gretzky wants Canada to stay Canadian

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Donald Trump says his friend Wayne Gretzky doesn’t agree with him that Canada should become the 51st state, and that’s fine by him.

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In a post Wednesday evening on Truth Social, his social media site, the U.S. president says the retired hockey player, who has come under fire from some Canadians for remaining silent amid Trump’s manifest destiny musings, is a “fantastic guy” who could win any political office in Canada.

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“Wayne is my friend, and he wants to make me happy, and is therefore somewhat ‘low key’ about Canada remaining a separate Country, rather than becoming a cherished and beautiful 51st State, paying much Lower Taxes, a Free and Powerful Military, NO TARIFFS, and having a Booming Economy,” Trump posted.

“Wayne and Janet, his wonderful wife, love Canada, and they should only support Canada, and whatever else makes the Canadian People, and Governor Justin Trudeau, happy. He’s the Greatest Canadian of them all, and I am therefore making him a ‘free agent,’ because I don’t want anyone in Canada to say anything bad about him.

“He supports Canada the way it is, as he should, even though it’s not nearly as good as it could be as part of the Greatest and Most Powerful Country in the World, the Good Ole’ U.S.A.!”

Gretzky is close with Trump, having attended an election-night event at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida in November. Trump has previously suggested Gretzky run for prime minister — or rather governor — of America’s 51st state.

Gretzky was booed after being picked as honorary captain of Team Canada at the 4 Nations Cup final that saw Canada beat the U.S. 3-2 in overtime last week.

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Before the game, he was coy about whether his first country — he now holds dual Canadian-American citizenship — would win, which it ultimately did. “It’s going to be tremendous hockey,” he said from the NHL Board of Governors meeting on Monday, NHL.com reports. “I’m not sure who is going to win, but I’m just saying as a Canadian, I think our team matches up very good against the Americans.”

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