American men drop to their knees, literally beg Justin Trudeau to run for U.S. president

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's recent trip to the U.S. appears to have made quite an impression on our American friends — perhaps too good an impression, judging by these videos of two New York men literally begging him to run for president.

Trudeau was approached with the request on Thursday during his trip to New York City, according to journalist Marie-Joëlle Parent, who shared a video of the encounter.

Parent shared the following video of Canada's prime minister chatting with two young men in the Mile End Delicatessen. In it, they are seen telling Trudeau about how unhappy they are with the candidates currently running for president in this year's U.S. election.

Possible pranksters

Posts on social media, however, speculate that the men may in fact be pranksters.

The two men bear close resemblance to a duo who have caused scenes at recent U.S. presidential campaign events. Washington, D.C., newspaper The Hill noted that a pair of pranksters who appeared outside a Donald Trump event wearing Nazi-style armbands look remarkably similar to two men who attended a Hillary Clinton rally wearing T-shirts with a "Settle for Hillary" slogan.

One of the men also resembles someone who recently disrupted a rally for former Republican presidential hopeful Marco Rubio, claiming that Rubio "was trying to steal his girlfriend."

Begging for Trudeau

But at the deli, Trudeau had to ward off his genuflecting suitors.

"All those guys are so bad. They're so terrible. Please," says one man as Trudeau laughs and shakes his head.

"They're boring, weird … we have to settle for them," says the other man. "Please."

In another video, Trudeau declines the invitation to run for president on the grounds that he's not U.S.-born.

The American men were quick to counter by pointing out that Republican presidential hopeful Ted Cruz was born in Calgary. 

"I have tremendous confidence in the American people," Trudeau told the men, but they weren't convinced. 

"We'll do anything. We're begging you," said one man before both dropped to their knees, hands clasped in front of them. 

"We're literally begging you."

Most of the people around Trudeau are seen laughing at this point, but the prime minister remained steadfast.

"I don't know if you noticed, but I actually have a job, and it's a pretty good one," he said. Then, with a hearty laugh and a pat on the back for one of the kneeling men, the prime minister went on his way.

Trudeau was in New York City on Wednesday to announce that Canada would seek a UN Security Council seat in 2021.