Trump revives Castro conspiracy links to Trudeau, sparking outcry
Donald Trump has joined those repeating rumours that the father of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was Fidel Castro. The former American president's statement stirred up a storm in Canada.
Trump spoke on Monday with American streamer Adin Ross, discussing various politicians and repeating what public broadcaster CBC described as a "baseless claim" about Trudeau's father. When shown a picture of the Canadian Prime Minister, Trump recalled a years-old conspiracy theory, referring to a mysterious "they." "They say he's (Trudeau) the son of Fidel Castro and could be. Anything's possible in this world," said Trump, whose statement was quoted by Canadian media.
CTVNews, writing about the "false claims," reminded readers that this is not Trump's first attack on Trudeau. Previously, Trump had referred to the Canadian Prime Minister as, among other things, "a far-left lunatic" and "two-faced." In November 2020, Trump's former National Security Advisor, John Bolton, told CBC that Trump does not respect Canada.
Political scientist Aaron Ettinger from Carleton University told CTVNews that personal relationships between prime ministers and presidents always matter. If Trump is re-elected, Trudeau and Trump "would be restarting the relationship from a place of mistrust."
Conspiracy theory regarding Trudeau
The conspiracy theory that the father of the current Canadian Prime Minister might not be Pierre Trudeau is not new. After Castro's death in December 2016, when Trudeau conveyed official condolences to Cubans, also mentioning his father's friendship with Castro, many outlets known for spreading misinformation and fake news published a photo comparing the faces of Trudeau and Castro, allegedly similar. They also included suggestions about the acquaintance and meetings between the current Prime Minister's parents and Castro before Justin Trudeau's birth.
The current Canadian Prime Minister was born on 25 December 1971, ten months after his parents' wedding. The first official meeting of Pierre and Margaret Trudeau with Castro took place in 1976 during the then-Canadian Prime Minister's visit to Cuba.
