As Mark Critch watched U.S President Donald Trump fixate on annexing Greenland in recent weeks, annoyance gave way to curiosity 鈥 and eventually, a plane ticket.
鈥淗e was talking about how there's nobody up there, and he would sometimes call it Iceland. I'd get frustrated,鈥 says the St. John鈥檚, N.L.-born comedian.
鈥淎nd I thought, 鈥榃hat would happen if he actually took the time to visit the places he plans to invade?鈥欌
So he flew to Greenland to find out.
In Tuesday鈥檚 episode of CBC鈥檚 鈥淭his Hour Has 22 Minutes,鈥 Critch takes his now-familiar Trump impersonation to Greenland, interviewing locals, politicians and protesters as the president threatens to seize the territory.
鈥淚t all happened so quickly. By the time you think, 鈥楽hould we do this?鈥 it鈥檚 like, 鈥極h, we got the tickets,鈥欌 says Critch.
The segment, titled 鈥淚t鈥檚 Not Easy Bein鈥 Greenland,鈥 was filmed last week and airs as Trump鈥檚 comments continue to reverberate through global politics.
Critch and a small 鈥22 Minutes鈥 crew headed to Nuuk, Greenland鈥檚 capital, where he stayed in character as Trump 鈥 combover wig and all 鈥 while speaking with residents, Indigenous community members and elected officials, including the city鈥檚 mayor, Avaaraq S. Olsen.
The goal, he says, wasn鈥檛 just parody.
鈥淚 didn't want to make it seem like we're going there and just dressing up as Trump for stupid content,鈥 he says.
鈥(I wanted to) use comedy to raise up some Greenlandic voices 鈥 people who you might not get to hear because Trump's voice is so loud, he shouts over everyone.鈥
Critch says he was struck by Nuuk鈥檚 vibrancy 鈥 its art, food, history and sense of identity 鈥 and by how readily people embraced the premise once they understood it.
鈥淭he idea that anyone would just come in to change the flag is insane. It's thousands of years of history here,鈥 he says.
The reception from locals was largely warm, though not without moments of tension. While filming outside the U.S. consulate during a protest, Critch was slapped by a Danish demonstrator 鈥 an incident he describes as charged but ultimately telling.
“There's a lot of residual anger there still, but he was enjoying that moment to finally get a chance to say something to at least the Trump,” Critch says.
The comedian says he was surprised at how many politicians agreed to speak to his faux Trump. Greenlandic opposition leader Pele Broberg told him he鈥檇 been inundated with media requests since Trump鈥檚 annexation threats 鈥 but made an exception for the 鈥22 Minutes鈥 crew.
鈥淗e said, 鈥業've been saying no to everything because it's overwhelming, but I saw this and I thought, 鈥榊eah, I'm going to do that one, because it might rise above the noise.鈥欌
Critch says locals warmed to him and the crew once they realized they were Canadians, dealing with their own Trump annexation headaches.
鈥淚t was comforting, in a way, to talk to the neighbours about the other neighbour.鈥
鈥22 Minutes鈥 has been going viral for sketches lampooning U.S. politics. Critch鈥檚 blustery Trump impressions amid his trade war with Canada have been racking up views, and most recently, Stacey McGunnigle鈥檚 biting impressions of White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt have drawn widespread attention online.
Critch believes the segments resonate because they reflect a distinctly Canadian perspective 鈥 watching U.S. political chaos from just across the fence.
鈥淲e鈥檙e the neighbour on the other side of the fence and we're hearing a lot of noise and there's fireworks going off and there鈥檚 someone yelling. And we are over here like, 鈥楽hould we call the cops?鈥欌 he says.
鈥淵ou get a different perspective on it looking down from here.鈥
As for whether Trump himself has seen the impersonation, Critch isn鈥檛 sure 鈥 though he notes his sketches have appeared on Fox News more than once.
鈥淚 think if he did know, there would have been a tweet on Truth Social going, 鈥楥ritch thinks he's like me, but his giant pale head is nothing like mine, quite frankly,鈥欌 he says, launching into his Trump impression.
鈥淚've heard terrible things about Newfoundlanders.鈥
Ultimately, Critch鈥檚 message to Trump is simple: if a Canadian comedian will fly to Greenland dressed up as him to hear what the locals have to say, maybe it鈥檚 time he did too.
鈥淟isten, just a little bit to any country. It doesn't matter what country it is,鈥 he says.
鈥淚 know he listens to Russia, but maybe in addition, if he could listen to Canada and Greenland sometime, that'd be great.鈥
This report by 国产诱惑福利 was first published Jan. 27, 2026.
