William Shatner, Captain Kirk himself, is one of the few celebrities who perhaps outrank Donald Trump when it comes to fame. There might have been a time when people outside the business world didn’t know Donald Trump, but William Shatner has long had a special place among sci-fi fans.
Recently, comments have been made about how Donald Trump reacts to those who are more famous than he is commenting about him. He has been described as sensitive to it. Recently, he threatened to deport Robert De Niro, who called the president an idiot. It seems Shatner may be joining De Niro’s camp, making his thoughts about the commander-in-chief clear.
“Toddler Donald Trump Is ‘Very Sensitive’ About What People ‘Who Are More Famous Than Him Say,’ Claims Nicolle Wallace” – OK Magazine #SmartNews https://t.co/DSXQ68RALD
— Republicans For Better Government (@rep4bettergovt) March 16, 2026
Shatner went on Fox News when Trump was floating the idea that Canada should join the United States as its 51st state. Instead, Shatner, quite unseriously, suggested that the United States should consider becoming part of Canada instead. He said, “Here, you have a friendly group of people saying, ‘Come on over. It’s cleaner, there’s plenty of power. There are some lovely people who want to work with you. Be our 11th province.’”
However, when it was pointed out that Donald Trump was persistent in his offer to include Canada in the United States, Shatner said, “At a certain point, persistence becomes insulting.”
While Shatner was not always so enthusiastic about speaking out about Trump, there were times when the Star Trek star took shots at several political figures in the United States. He compared Bernie Sanders to Mister Spock and said that Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz were nowhere close to being main character material.
Given that Shatner himself is Canadian, it makes sense that he would stay out of commenting on American politics.
And a big old 🙄 to the @DailyMail who on March 6th 2025 posted I had an “epic meltdown” and yesterday (10 days later) posted that I am MAGA.
Clickbait much?😑 https://t.co/z6QUknlGKe pic.twitter.com/e3sf4U5IXM
— William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) May 17, 2025
When the Star Trek cast and crew put out a letter supporting Hillary Clinton for the 2016 presidential election, Shatner’s name was missing. While largely apolitical and less involved in politics than some of his peers, Shatner’s national pride may have come through when Donald Trump took shots at his country and its leader.
Donald Trump has made a slew of such statements that have drawn backlash from the international community. Whether it was talk of taking Greenland or repeated pushes to include Canada as the 51st state, there have been several controversial statements made by Trump in the name of national security.
