Trump's baseless claim: Trudeau's father was Fidel Castro

Donald Trump has joined those repeating rumors that the father of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was Fidel Castro. The former American president's statement has caused an uproar in Canada.

Trump spoke with American streamer Adin Ross on Monday, discussing various politicians and repeating what the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) described as a "baseless claim" about Trudeau's father. When shown a picture of the Canadian Prime Minister, Trump recalled the many-year-old conspiracy theory, citing the mysterious "they." "They say he's (Trudeau) the son of Fidel Castro and could be. Anything's possible in this world," Trump said, as quoted by Canadian media.

CTVNews, writing about these "false claim," reminded readers that this is not Trump's first attack on Trudeau. Previously, Trump has called the Canadian Prime Minister a "far-left lunatic" and "two-faced." In November 2020, former Trump National Security Advisor John Bolton told CBC that Trump does not respect Canada.

Aaron Ettinger, a political scientist 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."

The conspiracy theory that the father of the current Canadian Prime Minister may not have been Pierre Trudeau is not new. After Castro's death in December 2016, when Trudeau officially conveyed condolences to Cubans, also mentioning his father's friendship with Castro, many sources known for spreading misinformation and fake news published a photo comparing the faces of Trudeau and Castro, suggesting a resemblance. 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 December 25, 1971, ten months after his parents' wedding. Pierre and Margaret Trudeau's first official meeting with Castro occurred in 1976 during the then-Canadian Prime Minister's visit to Cuba.