TORONTO (AP) 鈥� Retired NHL great Wayne Gretzky downplayed his influence on Donald Trump in his first public comments since the U.S. president began his second term and began making references to .
On a , son of former conservative Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, Gretzky never used Trump鈥檚 name and was never asked about Trump's tariffs and trade war or the 51st state comments. Mulroney instead asked Gretzky if it registered with him that others attempt to use his name to further their agendas.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 worry about those kind of things because you can鈥檛 make everybody happy,鈥� Gretzky said on the show on AM-640 in Toronto. 鈥淏ut, trust me, I have no political power with the prime minister or the president. That鈥檚 between those two guys, and that鈥檚 why you hold elections and that鈥檚 why people get to do what they want to do and say what they want to say. But trust me I have no pull or power with either the prime minister or the president.鈥�
Some Canadians why Gretzky doesn鈥檛 speak out against Trump鈥檚 comments and they have noted his relationship with the Republican president dates back some years.
Asked about having his by Alex Ovechkin, a Russian player, Gretzky also brushed that aside and said he and his teammates never talked about politics during his playing days.
鈥淲e watched basketball, we watched baseball, we talked about the Blue Jays, we talked about the New York Yankees,鈥� Gretzky said. "Hockey players, that鈥檚 never on the docket. It鈥檚 just something that we stay in our lane. The prime minister and the president don鈥檛 tell us how to play hockey, and we don鈥檛 tell them how to do politics, right?鈥�
Trump has called Gretzky a friend and once suggested the 鈥淕reat One鈥� should be Canada's governor if the country becomes the 51st U.S. state. Gretzky sat with Trump's FBI Director, Kash Patel, during the Washington Capitals games in which Ovechkin tied and broke his record.
The 64-year-old from Brantford, Ontario, has generally .
鈥淚 always say to my kids 鈥� I鈥檝e got five American kids, seven American grandchildren, an American wife, a 103-year-old American mother-in-law, and I always tell them every day that you be as proud of the United States of America as I am to be a Canadian," Gretzky said on Mulroney's show. "That鈥檚 what your grandfather would have wanted.鈥�
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