While Canadians were obsessing over Trudeau's closely averted physical fight with Mulcair and the #Elbowgate scandal, Americans were freaking out about Trudeau's appearance on the Daily Show hosted by Trevor Noah.
Noah is a Trudeau fan — which isn't surprising given how the U.S. election is going — and featured him to put a spotlight on Canadians' approach to the Syrian refugee crisis.
In the program, Daily Show correspondent Hasan Minhaj explains how Canada's acceptance of 25,000 Syrian refugees has Americans fearful and anxious about terrorist threats.
Minaj shows a series clips from FOX news, with reporters warning viewers:
"Thousands of Syrian refugees entering Canada will sneak across the U.S. border. Some of them will be ISIS supporters!"
"It's very, very scary."
The majority of Americans oppose taking in any refugees from Syria, Minhaj says, adding that public opinion in the U.S. has often been against welcoming newcomers from war-torn countries.
Minaj talks with Syrian refugees in Canada (a dental technician and Engish literature student from Syria), and some Canadian sponsors for refugees who are upset that more people haven't arrived to date. Halfway through the show, he gets to the "source" of the problem — Canada's prime minister Justin Trudeau.
Unlike his predecessor, Trudeau has been openly welcoming of Syrian refugees (despite some criticism that refugees from other countries haven't received the same treatment) and personally greeted some Syrians arriving at the airport last year.
Coming to Parliament Hill, Minhaj asks Prime Minister Trudeau point-blank:
"Why are you trying to destroy North America?"
After Trudeau explains that North America was built by people fleeing conflict and persecution, Minhaj counters:
"Mr. JT, I went to customs. They were like, 'What are you here to do?' I said, 'I am here to roast Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Do you know what the guy said? 'Have a nice day.'
Trudeau starts laughing, but Minhaj won't let him off the hook, and asks:
"What if I came here to literally roast you?"
Trudeau smiles a bit menacingly, and warns that such a task might not be as easy as Minhaj thinks.
But after some banter about terrorists crashing the U.S. border on mooseback, Minhaj asks a more serious question. Although the threat of a refugee from Canada crossing the border to carry out a terror attack is 0.00019%, the risk still exists.
How does Trudeau go to sleep at night knowing the risk of a Paris attack or Belgium attack may happen?
"The best counter to the kind of radicalization and marginalization that we see in other parts of the world is to create an inclusive society where everyone can succeed just like everyone else," Trudeau counters.
"One of the great things about Canadian culture is that we've figured out that it's done by addition. You take perspectives and experiences of the world and create something better than the sum of its parts."
At that point, Minhaj's eyes widen, and a realization dawns on him.
"He's talking about a melting pot! That's our thing," Minhaj says to the audience. "Are we really going to let some a**holes trying to kill us let Canada steal our brand?" He quotes Republican Sarah Palin, who said freedom would be a casualty in the pursuit of absolute safety, and thanked Canada for reminding him that America was always number one.
Comments