Former President Donald Trump repeated the rumor that Fidel Castro is the real father of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during a podcast appearance.
The Republican presidential candidate made the comments in an interview with popular streamer Adin Ross as they discussed Canada’s political situation.
“He’s become very liberal, in fact they say he’s the son of Fidel Castro and he could be,” Trump said. “Anything is possible in this world, you know?”
The false claim that Trudeau is the son of Margaret Trudeau and the late communist dictator has been so persistent that the Canadian government was forced to deny it in 2018.
The debunked story was widely shared after Trudeau praised Castro as a “larger-than-life legendary revolutionary” following his death in 2016.
Donald Trump has repeated the false rumour that Fidel Castro is the real father of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The Canadian leader appears in the photo as a young man accompanied by his mother Margaret
“He’s become very liberal, in fact they say he’s the son of Fidel Castro and he could be,” Trump said. “Anything is possible in this world, you know?”
Trudeau praised the former Cuban president in a tribute that focused on his family’s close ties to Castro and made no mention of his history of ruthless repression.
Trudeau’s father, former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, met Castro in 1976 during a controversial trip that took place at the height of the Cold War.
Pierre Elliot Trudeau, who was the first NATO leader to visit Cuba since 1959, had hoped to open a dialogue with Castro as tensions between the island and the United States worsened.
The Canadian prime minister arrived accompanied by his wife Margaret and youngest son Michel, and Castro reportedly melted at the sight of his newborn.
“I met that little baby when he came here when he was not even four months old, and he won everyone’s hearts,” Castro told the CBC in 2000.
That set the tone for the rest of the visit, as Pierre and Castro, to everyone’s surprise, became instant friends.
Pierre stayed for three days and at one point even exclaimed: “Long live Castro!”
The two leaders remained close for longer after Pierre retired from politics and their friendship “persisted into the 1990s”, Professor Robin Wright told Macleans.
The Canadian Prime Minister arrived accompanied by his wife Margaret and his youngest son Michel and Castro immediately melted upon seeing his newborn.
Pierre stayed for three days and at one point even exclaimed: “Long live Castro!”
When Trudeau Sr. died in 2000, Castro dropped everything to attend his funeral in Montreal.
Castro was an honorary pallbearer at the funeral and met Justin, then 29, and his younger brother Alexandre.
Following in his father’s footsteps, Trudeau visited Cuba just a week before Castro’s death.
Trudeau’s mother, Margaret, an author and actress, was 22 when she married the 51-year-old prime minister and was the subject of intense media scrutiny.
Trump’s comments come weeks after Mick Jagger, 80, was booed by the crowd at BC Place stadium on July 5 when he praised the Canadian prime minister on stage.
“We love your Mr. Trudeau,” Jagger said to a chorus of boos. “His family has always been a big fan of our band.”
Jagger sparked more rumors about the Canadian politician’s mother after former President Donald Trump allegedly accused Margaret of sleeping with all of the Rolling Stones.
But he appeared to poke fun at his mother Margaret Trudeau and the time she spent partying with the Rolling Stones in the 1970s.
“We love your Mr. Trudeau,” Jagger said to a chorus of boos. “His family has always been a big fan of our band.”
This sparked more rumors about the Canadian politician’s mother after former President Trump allegedly accused Margaret of sleeping with all of the Rolling Stones, according to the book by former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham.
But the Rolling Stones frontman denied the rumours at the time, saying: “It’s really embarrassing. It’s just not true, you know?”
“She just came for a two-night gig, she just wanted to have a good time, I don’t know.”