03.10.2016 04:38 PM

President Trump, Prime Minister Poutine is on the line

Sigh. You can’t make this stuff up.

Explains Trump, though, don’t it?

  

21 Comments

  1. Matt says:

    You’re upset 68% were able to correctly identify Trudeau as the PM?

    I’m actually shocked it’s that high, even with some of the American media’s breathless coverage of the state visit.

    More interesting, although not terribly surprising is the majority of Americans outside the media/Washington DC bubble really don’t care about his visit.

  2. P. Brenn says:

    I think 68% is pretty good …many americans know nothing about us period.

  3. BillBC says:

    I may be out of line here, but I think that 68% is a surprisingly large number, given the lack of political and historical knowledge among the general public. Did you see the youtube video where students at Texas Tech university were asked the question “who won the Civil War” and some of them–American college students–didn’t know? Why would they know who our PM was?

    And no, it doesn’t explain Trump. The awfulness of politicians generally explains Trump

  4. Al in Cranbrook says:

    Probably not that much lower of a percentage than here in Canada.

    I still haven’t met one person around these parts whom will admit to voting for Trudeau.

    • smelter rat says:

      You need to leave the seniors center to get a broader sample.

    • The Doctor says:

      Al, I guess that aptly demonstrates the gulf between Cranbrook and Vancouver. My facebook feed is full of besotted Trudeau gush from my fb friends. During the recent state visit, I swear they must have had to change their underwear several times a day.

  5. Brion Pollon says:

    I highly doubt the accuracy of the poll, we were in the states for the month of Feb. and his name was never mentioned by any Americans that we met. In fact the US coverage of the visit was minimal, no mention on lefty friendly CNN and even on CNN.com the event was only covered on the politics page and half way down at that. The main story of the day, who is going to replace the Dos Equis guy?

    • Art says:

      I watched numerous as CNN discussed it numerous times and commented on the excitement level Trudeau was generating. Not sure what you were watching.

      • Brion Pollon says:

        Unlike the rapturous Canadian media CNN, better known as the Clinton News Network, had nothing on Trudeau the day they arrived. It was all about the debate that night. And really, Justin Trudeau the guy who shamelessly apes Obama with the no jacket, sleeves rolled up routine, selfie king, Mr. “because it’s 2015” parades around Washington in an old fashioned 3 piece suit. Was he trying to channel McKenzie King?

  6. Jon Powers says:

    Yawn. The “Americans are stupid” narrative is so boring. I’ve got news for you – Canadians are pretty dumb too. Perhaps more so. Here’s a link of comedian Guy Nantel asking Torontonians about our own federal politics. Stupidity ensues.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGiN-_6Qk_E

    • Eric Weiss says:

      Yep. The constant navel gazing about what Americans know/think about us is pretty embarrassing. A serious country or people don’t obsess about stuff like this. Who cares.

  7. Kenz0s says:

    A useful little graph for me, though. I now know who the Governor of Vermont is.

  8. Cory says:

    To put it in context, I’d be curious as to how many Canadians could name the Mexican president.

    • Mac says:

      Entirely different situation.

      Canada doesn’t share as close a relationship with Mexico as it does with the US. We are much more culturally and economically entwined with our American counterparts than we are with our Mexican trading partners. Of course, I still wouldn’t expect average Americans to identify the Canadian PM as easily as say the Russian President simply due to the degree of exposure Americans have to the name “Putin” and “Russia” through the media. But ultimately, Americans should be able to identify Canada’s PM with relative ease given our relationship and proximity.

      That said, I doubt many Americans can even identify the Mexican President.

  9. Mac says:

    Honestly, I love that the Governor of Vermont received 6% of this total answers. That to me is much more indicative of Donald Trump’s success.

    Frankly, I’m surprised that 68% of the respondents actually identified the correct person as the Prime Minster of Canada.

    • The Doctor says:

      Isn’t the design of the poll a big factor in the outcome of the poll? If the pollsters gave a list of names, it’s far more likely that the respondents would be able to pick out the correct answer, especially because Pierre Trudeau was PM way back when and also Margaret was a minor celeb herself. But if they didn’t give a list and just asked the question, I suspect the number of respondents able to come up with the correct full name out of the blue would be significantly smaller (especially prior to this state visit, the 60 Minutes appearance etc.).

  10. Jimmy says:

    Way higher than I would have thought.
    And I honestly doubt a poll of Canadians would be better. Might go from 68% to low 70’s%

  11. Reality.Bites says:

    I doubt there’s any world leader, except maybe Putin, who’d get as high as 68%. Could 68% of us reading this identify the leader of Japan? Mexico? China? Spain?

    And Harper probably only made it as high as 6% from coverage of his defeat.

  12. Robm says:

    Hmm thats actually pretty good 70% recognition

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