On Sunday, Team USA pulled the upset over Team Canada to take home the gold medal in men’s hockey, after the USA Women’s Team also took gold over Canada earlier in the winter Olympics. The Canadians had Team USA on their heels for most of the game, but a lights out performance from goalie Connor Hellebuyck helped the Americans send the game into overtime. And during 3-on-3, Jack Hughes became an American hero by scoring the game winner after losing two teeth earlier in the game.
I mean, hang it in the Smithsonian:
Just an incredible effort from this group all the way around. For the first time in 46 years, the USA Men’s hockey team are gold medal champions:
JACK HUGHES DELIVERS AMERICA’S GOLDEN MOMENT IN OVERTIME. pic.twitter.com/4foFDOri53
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) February 22, 2026
After the game, FBI director Kash Patel was in the locker room, and he got President Donald Trump on the line to speak with the very excited team, though it didn’t come without controversy. During the call, he invited the boys to the White House and the State of the Union address tonight, while also making a joke about having to invite the women’s team too because he would be “impeached” if he didn’t:
“I must tell you, we’re going to have to bring the women’s team, you do know that. I do believe I probably would be impeached.”
(This was after he also made a joke about goalie Connor Hellebuyck playing “not bad.”)
Of course, people had a wide-ranging take on it, with many finding it offensive (shocker), and plenty of others taking it as a light-hearted joke. While the women’s team was in fact invited tonight, they announced that they had declined the president’s invitation to the State of the Union, on account of various scheduling issues. The NHL doesn’t start back up until tomorrow night, however many members of the women’s team are college students who have obligations for both school and their respective teams:
“We are sincerely grateful for the invitation extended to our gold medal–winning U.S. Women’s Hockey Team and deeply appreciate the recognition of their extraordinary achievement. Due to the timing and previously scheduled academic and professional commitments following the Games, the athletes are unable to participate. They were honored to be included and are grateful for the acknowledgment.”
Perhaps the White House can find another time for them.
Apparently, they’ve accepted an invitation to party with Flavor Flav instead, according to Flavor Flav so take that with a grain of salt, but it definitely sounds like the worse end of the deal. It sounds like Hughes brothers and the rest of the men’s hockey team are excited to get to the White House, and he was asked about their decision yesterday as they arrived in Miami to celebrate before heading to D.C.
And he had a great answer, saying they all love their country and view themselves as athletes, not political figures, and they consider it an honor to be invited to the White House by a President… what a refreshing concept. It really is that simple:
“Yeah, we’re excited… everything is so political. We’re athletes. We’re so proud to represent the U.S., and when you get the chance to go to the White House, meet the President, you know, we’re proud to be Americans, that’s so patriotic. No matter what your views are, we’re super excited to go to the White House tomorrow and just be part of that.”
It’s an American tradition for teams to visit the White House and meet the President after any huge sports victory, no matter who is in office, and they deserve to be recognized by the country for representing us so well, as does the women’s team. In fact, much like Kash Patel was in the locker room with a line to the President this year, Vice President Walter Mondale made a call to President Jimmy Carter from the locker room in Lake Placid when the 1980 men’s team won.
Jack was also asked about the women’s team in light of the manufactured political controversy, and he explained that they are all proud of the women’s team, and have gotten to know them well.
He explained how much they all enjoyed celebrating together, and there is no animosity between either team at all:
“They’ve got busy schedules too. Everyone’s getting up backlash for all the social media stuff today, but it’s so negative, people are so negative out there, and they’re trying to find a reason to just put people down and make something out of almost nothing.
Our relationship with them over the course of being in Olympic village, I think we are so tight with their group after we won the gold medal, we were in the cafeteria at 3:30 in the morning with them, and then we go right from that, we pack our bags, and we’re on the bus. You guys, like… people are so negative about things, but I think everyone in that locker room knows how much we support them, how proud we are of them, the same way we feel about them we know they feel that way about us.”
Hughes’ mom is Ellen Weinberg-Hughes, who currently serves as a player development consultant for the U.S. Women’s National Ice Hockey Team. During the 2026 Games in Milan, she helped guide the U.S. women to a gold medal victory just days before her sons, the aforementioned Jack as well as her son Quinn (she has three boys in total, and Luke is also in the NHL, though he did not make the Olympic team). It’s insane to think Jack, or anyone else on the men’s team, isn’t ecstatic for the women’s team and vice versa. They all had an incredible run during this Olympic games, and we’re all proud of that.
He’s right, everything is so political, and it would be nice to just them enjoy a historic victory for a few days before it all gets turned into some think-piece dissertation on everything they’ve said and done over the last several days.
If you plan to watch the State of the Union address tonight, you’ll probably see a lot of Jack, as well as the rest of the men’s hockey team throughout the evening as they’re rightfully celebrated as Olympic champions.
@eileenreslen EXCLUSIVE: #JackHughes spoke to me exclusively outside of #TeamUSA’s #Olympic gold celebration in Miami to react to the backlash surrounding their White House visit and the women’s team declining Trump’s invite. Full story @Daily Mail. #Trump #hockey ♬ original sound – Eileen Reslen
Mama Hughes had the perfect response, focusing on the country and how incredible both teams were throughout all of their games, going undefeated and both bringing home the gold for the United States:
