Wayne Gretzky attends Donald Trump’s US election party wearing a ‘MAGA’ hat and receives mixed reactions online: ‘Really disappointing’

Newly elected US President Donald Trump, who has touted himself as the ‘greatest’ president in American history, appears to have a fan of ‘The Great One’ himself.

On his way to victory over Kamala Harris in Tuesday’s much-discussed US election, Trump held a party at his Mar-a-Lago resort. Guests included his family, political supporters and a variety of high-profile allies, including Elon Musk, UFC president Dana White and 2024 US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau.

NHL legend Wayne Gretzky also attended the exclusive party at Trump’s private resort and club in Florida, along with his family, including his wife Janet, his son Trevor, his daughter Paulina and her husband and professional golfer Dustin Johnson.

The family posed for a photo, which Paulina shared on her Instagram story.

Trump Organization Executive VP Larry Glick later posted a slideshow on Instagram, with the main photo featuring Gretzky wearing a white and gold “Make America Great Again” hat.

On Wednesday, Wayne’s wife, Janet, posted her own “congratulations” message to Trump on her personal Instagram page, praising the US president-elect while expressing gratitude for his friendship and leadership.

“Congratulations Mr. President Donald J Trump, you did it, you earned it, you earned every bit of it. The world is a better place to have you as our leader, proud to be an American. Thank you you are such a great friend. May God continue to watch over you. Love our family and yours!” read her caption.

While the shocking images may cause some to look twice – or three, four, five times – this development should come as no shock to anyone, as Gretzky, like many wealthier middle-aged white men, has a history of supporting conservative candidates on both sides of the border.

Among those in Canadian political circles that Gretzky threw his hat behind were former Prime Minister Stephen Harper (who was ousted by Justin Trudeau in 2015) and current Mayor of Brampton, Ontario, Patrick Brown, as he battled Doug Ford and others to leader of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party in 2014.

‘The Great One’ was also spotted chatting with Trump on a golf course in 2020 while shooting a round with his son-in-law Dustin Johnson.

Johnson, a former Masters champion who left the PGA for Saudi-run LIV Golf in June 2022, appears to have the closest relationship with Trump of the entire Gretzky family, especially because of his and Trump’s shared love of golf to share.

The Daily Mail reported in August 2023 that Johnson claims he has known Trump for years and that the two share a fairly good friendship.

“I won Doral when it was there, with Trump,” Johnson said of his victory in the WGC Cadillac Championship at the Trump-owned National Doral Golf Club in Miami.

“He’s in Palm Beach, so we play a lot of golf together. We’ve had a nice friendship over the years.” Johnson said, adding that he has known Trump “for a while.”

Johnson and his wife Paulina also attended the same Halloween party as Trump in 2021.

Despite the fairly publicized connection between Gretzky’s family and Trump, many were stunned to find out just how much of a supporter the former is. Some took to social media to express their disgust and frustration with the situation, hockey culture as a whole, and with Gretzky himself.

Of course, amid the backlash during this divisive political climate, there are also plenty of people who supported Gretzky and his support of Trump.

Many of them also took to social media to express their opinions.

Gretzky is not the first hockey player of all time to openly support Trump. As a few of the posts above mentioned, Bobby Orr – widely considered the greatest defenseman in NHL history and perhaps the second or third best play ever – supported Trump’s 2020 re-election bid.

The Boston Bruins legend took out a full-page ad in the New Hampshire Union Leader, calling Trump “the kind of teammate I want.”

Gretzky, meanwhile, is literally referred to as the “Great” due to his status as the greatest player in NHL history. He owns or shares more than 50 NHL records, including virtually all of the game’s major individual points: regular season goals, regular season assists, regular season points, career playoff goals, playoff career off assists, career playoff points and more.

The Brantford, Ontario, native spent most of the first three decades of his life in Canada, but was traded from Edmonton to Los Angeles in 1988 and has lived in the United States for much of the 36 years since that deal.

Gretzky retains dual citizenship in both the US and Canada.