Singer Changes National Anthem Words to Mock Trump, But It Backfires Horribly

In a matchup where the national anthems of the competing teams were set to generate as much discussion as the final score, let’s put it this way: Chantal Kreviazuk didn’t exactly do her home country proud.

Was she attempting to provoke President Donald Trump and the American audience? Did the pressure get to her? At the time, we weren’t sure. And honestly, did it even matter? Well, perhaps to Canadians, who might want to question why her performance—whether an act of defiance or a slip-up—didn't exactly reflect well on what some call the "51st state."

For those not keeping up, the NHL’s 4 Nations Face-Off—featuring teams from the U.S., Canada, Finland, and Sweden—has been a battleground where politics and sports have intertwined.

First, during a game at Montreal’s Bell Centre last Thursday, the U.S. national anthem was met with boos before America’s victory over Finland. The reaction didn’t sit well with players.

“I didn’t like it. That’s all I got,” said U.S. star Matthew Tkachuk after the game.

Then, on Saturday, before a showdown between the U.S. and Canada—again at the Bell Centre—Canadians once again booed "The Star-Spangled Banner." This time, Tkachuk, alongside his brother Brady Tkachuk and J.T. Miller, made sure to respond in a way that only hockey players can:

Not only did three fights break out within nine seconds, but the U.S. also pulled off a shocking win over a heavily favored Canadian squad riding a 17-game international winning streak dating back to 2010.

“Matthew’s fight to start it off was such an energy boost,” Brady Tkachuk said. “I think I was more excited, more nervous than my own. And then Millsy to cap it off to go against a big guy like that, I think he did a great job.”

While the U.S. eventually fell 3-2 in overtime during the final at Boston’s TD Garden on Thursday, even pushing a supposedly superior Canadian team to OT was a victory in its own right. But let’s shift focus to the battle of the anthems this time around.

First, the American rendition:

Now, the Canadian one:

Granted, this wasn’t quite Carl Lewis’ infamous butchering of "The Star-Spangled Banner" before an NBA game in 1993 (immortalized on ESPN’s SportsCenter with anchor Charlie Steiner barely holding back laughter as he noted the anthem was apparently "written by Francis Scott ‘Off’ Key"), but in a game where the anthem was already a focal point, it certainly stood in stark contrast to the American performance.

Setting aside the weak vocal delivery (for the record, I’ve never been a fan of Chantal Kreviazuk, who has a niche following in the U.S., but this was rough even for her), the real question remains: Was this an intentional statement, or simply a mistake?

She began with “O Canada,” which, of course, makes sense—that is the song’s title, after all.

For the second line, she opted for French: “Terre de nos aïeux.” While that choice might have been for inclusivity, she then switched back to English for the third verse: “True patriot love that only us command.” [Emphasis added.]

The actual lyrics? “True patriot love in all of us command.”

According to Canada’s SportsNet, this was a deliberate protest against Donald Trump, who had made remarks about the game beforehand.

“In an email to The Canadian Press, publicist Adam Gonshor explained that Kreviazuk changed the lyric from ‘in all of us command’ to ‘that only us command’ in response to Trump’s comments,” SportsNet Canada reported.

“Kreviazuk also posted to her Instagram story the phrase ‘that only us command’ written on her left hand with emojis of a Canadian flag and a flexed muscle.”

Quite the statement—altering one’s own national anthem for political messaging. That’s patriotism, much like booing another country’s anthem just because of who their president is.

And as for the less-than-stellar delivery? According to Kreviazuk, it was all due to her courageous stance.

“My voice probably sounded not as stable, and it was because it made me so emotional,” she told The Canadian Press in an interview.

“I was singing for our pride, for our honor, our sovereignty, our history—the good, the bad—and the future.”

If that’s the best representation of honor, sovereignty, history, and the future—meaning, Canada’s progressive vision—why not just take the 51st state offer now? You’ll get two Democratic senators, won’t have to deal with Pierre Poilievre next election, and we’ll still let you pretend that the Barenaked Ladies, Chantal Kreviazuk, and The Tragically Hip are significant.

Plus, eventually, we’ll even let you win at hockey again.

That’s "The Art of the Deal" in action, folks.