Obama endorses Justin Trudeau's re-election bid just weeks after blackface scandal

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Obama endorses Justin Trudeau's re-election bid just weeks after blackface scandal

October 17, 2019

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Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Former President Barack Obama has one big executive endorsement.

While he's not wading into America's presidential election just yet, Obama tweeted Wednesday to reveal his position on Canada's upcoming federal election. He's hoping current Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will keep his spot, which wouldn't have been surprising if Trudeau hadn't gotten into a blackface scandal just a month ago.

I was proud to work with Justin Trudeau as President. He's a hard-working, effective leader who takes on big issues like climate change. The world needs his progressive leadership now, and I hope our neighbors to the north support him for another term.
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) October 16, 2019

Trudeau's Liberal Party currently holds a majority in the Canadian parliament, but has seen its popularity fall since the last election in 2015. It's currently neck-and-neck with its rival Conservative Party, a toss-up that somehow wasn't hurt by the revelation that Trudeau wore blackface and brownface an unknown number of times. In fact, polling averages show the gap between the two parties has only narrowed since Trudeau apologized for painting his face and body as recently as 2001.