On March 10, 2016, American President Barack Obama and the First Lady, Michelle Obama, welcomed Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife, Sophie Trudeau, to the White House. It was the first visit to the States by a Canadian prime minister whose last name is Trudeau since the younger Trudeau’s father, Pierre Trudeau, visited Richard Nixon in the 1960’s. Not only that, but it is also the first official visit to the White House by a Canadian prime minister in nineteen years.
Amid all the serious conversation, there were many chances for the two leaders to drop jokes on varied topics, ranging from Justin Bieber to hockey. Not only that, but President Obama’s daughters, Malia and Sasha, attended a state event for the first time in their lives.
At the beginning, President Obama and Prime Minister Trudeau joked about a range of topics, including who has better beer, is the superior hockey nation, and why the Expos, who were in Montreal until 2004, when they relocated to Washington and became the Nationals, are still in Washington. "We've made tremendous progress on many issues. Unfortunately, I will leave town with my beloved Expos still here in Washington. You can't have everything,” said the prime minister.
"Now, I don't want to gloss over the very real differences between Americans and Canadians. There are some things we will probably never agree on. Whose beer is better? Who's better at hockey?" Obama joked. "Where's the Stanley Cup right now? I'm sorry, is it in my hometown, with the Chicago Blackhawks?" However, unlike his reaction on Twitter to the president, where he said he would come back with Canada’s Olympic hockey golds “from, oh, how about 2002 & 2010,” Trudeau had a different response, citing that most Blackhawks were Canadian anyway, so it didn’t matter. "A few that come to mind that President Obama just rightly recognized as being extraordinary contributors to the American success story is Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith, and Patrick Sharp of the Chicago Blackhawks," Trudeau said, mentioning three important Canadians on the Blackhawks, including the captain of the team.
Later, during the dinner, Trudeau and Obama held a long toast, with some prominent Canadians on the guest list, including Ryan Reynolds and his wife, Blake Lively, and actress Sandra Oh. Obama and Trudeau took the opportunity to crack more jokes, including this one, referencing Canadian Justin Bieber, “Mr. Prime Minister, after today, I think it’s fair to say that, here in America, you may well be the most popular Canadian named Justin,” Obama said.
“I would argue that it’s better to be the leader of a country that consistently wins Olympic gold medals in hockey. President Obama would likely disagree. And yet, you still invited us over for dinner. Because that’s what friends do,” Prime Minister Trudeau teased, during his toast, which he devoted a portion to Malia and Sasha Obama.
The lighthearted tone of the dinner was completely different from the serious environment President Obama used to welcome other international visitors, signifying the relationship between Canadians and Americans, which as Prime Minister Trudeau quoted, “It is that enduring good will and commonsense that I believe defines our relationship to this day.”
Sources:
Beckwith, Ryan. "Read President Obama's Toast to Justin Trudeau." Time. Time, 10 Mar. 2016. Web. 13 Apr. 2016.
Fox, Emily. "President Obama and Justin Trudeau Made Bieber Jokes at the White House's Canadian Love-Fest Last Night." Vanity Fair. Vanity Fair, 11 Mar. 2016. Web. 13 Apr. 2016.
Liptak, Kevin, and Nicole Gaouette. "Obama Teases Trudeau over Hockey."CNN. Cable News Network, 10 Mar. 2016. Web. 13 Apr. 2016.
