A viral video shows Canadian fans booing “The Star-Spangled Banner” prior to the 4 Nations Face-Off hockey game between the United States and Canada at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada, on Saturday. The Canadian protest against the U.S. national anthem comes amid a feud between President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
The New York Post reported that Canadian fans began booing “The Star-Spangled Banner” as soon as David Grenon, a member of the Royal Canadian Air Force, started singing the national anthem ahead of the 4 Nations Face-Off game on Saturday. The outlet noted that the voices of U.S. hockey fans were drowned out by the loud boos of the Canadian hockey fans. The New York Post also reported that the United States did not boo “O Canada,” Canada’s national anthem.
According to The New York Post, the booing of America’s national anthem quickly led to multiple fights between the hockey players, with Team USA’s Matthew Tkachuk and Team Canada’s Brandon Hagel starting a fight as soon as the game started. The New York Post reported that three fights occurred in the first nine seconds of Saturday’s game.
Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) shared a video of the highlights from Saturday’s game on X, formerly Twitter. The video shows the Canadian fans booing “The Star-Spangled Banner,” the fights between the two teams, and Team USA’s three goals scored against Team Canada. “Last night Team Canada learned FAFO,” Donalds tweeted. “1–They booed our anthem 2–So we get into 3 fights in the first 9sec 3–We then net 3 unanswered goals 4–We blast Free Bird after each goal 5–And we blow them out in their OWN STADIUM 6–AMERICA IS BACK.”
The New York Post reported that the United States went on to win the game by a score of 3 to 1. By winning the game, the United States secured a spot in the championship final in Boston, Massachusetts, on February 20.
According to The Post Millennial, the Canadian protest against “The Star-Spangled Banner” comes as Trump has threatened to increase tariffs on Canadian products unless Canada takes steps to increase security along the northern border between the United States and Canada.
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Addressing reporters recently from the Oval Office, Trump mocked Trudeau by calling him “governor” and suggesting that Canada would be better off if the country became part of the United States.
“Why would we pay $200 billion a year in subsidies to Canada when they’re not a state?” Trump added. “You do that for a state, but you don’t do that for somebody else’s country. So I think Canada is gonna be a very serious contender to be our 51st state.”