President Donald Trump encountered significant criticism on Monday following a phone call with the triumphant U.S. men's Olympic ice hockey team, during which he made a joke about extending an invitation to the gold medal-winning American women's squad to visit the White House as well.
Controversial Remarks During Celebratory Call
In a congratulatory conversation with the U.S. men's team, which secured gold at the Winter Olympics for the first time in forty-six years, Trump initially suggested using military aircraft to transport the athletes to his State of the Union address on Tuesday. He then presented what he described as a "very cool" proposal for the team to visit the White House the following day.
"And we have to — I must tell you — we're going to have to bring the women's team," Trump stated, chuckling as the American men erupted in laughter in a clip that quickly circulated across various social media platforms.
The president added, "[If I don't] do that, I do believe I probably would be impeached, OK?"
FBI Director's Involvement and Team Achievements
The video clip shows FBI Director Kash Patel, who himself is facing scrutiny for reportedly consuming beers with the U.S. men's team during a taxpayer-funded trip to Italy, holding the phone as Trump addresses the athletes. Patel can be heard telling the president in a slurred voice that he can arrange such a visit.
Both the U.S. men's and women's ice hockey teams delivered flawless performances during the group stage at the Winter Olympics and advanced through the playoffs. Each team ultimately captured gold by defeating their Canadian rivals in overtime with identical scores of 2-1.
This victory represents the third gold medal for the American women's team since ice hockey was introduced as an Olympic sport in 1998.
Widespread Social Media Condemnation
Social media users swiftly condemned Trump over his remarks. Activist Shannon Watts denounced the president on platform X for "begrudgingly" extending the invitation to the gold medal-winning women and criticized the men's team for laughing along with the joke.
Other critics on X labeled the men in the video as "spineless" and described the clip as both "dispiriting" and "inexcusable."
On Reddit, one highly-upvoted comment characterized the joke as "absolutely shameful," with the commenter writing, "I wish I was surprised… but gd it still turns my stomach knowing I was cheering for them just yesterday," referring to the men's team.
Disappointment with Hughes Brothers
Additional comments in the Reddit thread expressed particular disappointment with brothers Quinn and Jack Hughes, the latter of whom scored the golden goal for the U.S. men on Sunday, for appearing to laugh at the president's joke.
This reaction is especially notable given that the siblings' mother, Ellen Weinberg-Hughes, played for the U.S. women's team in the early 1990s and served as a player development consultant for the squad during the Milan Olympics.
Scheduling Conflicts and League Resumptions
Trump's proposed date for Team USA's White House visit—Wednesday—coincidentally conflicts with the scheduled resumption of the NHL season following an extended break due to the Winter Olympics.
Furthermore, Professional Women's Hockey League players are set to return to the ice on Thursday, adding another layer of scheduling complexity to the proposed visit.
HuffPost has reached out to both the White House and USA Hockey for comment regarding the controversy, but responses have not yet been made public.
