Over the past few weeks, both the United States men’s and women’s Olympic hockey teams have been able to take home gold medals at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics. Unfortunately, these wins have recently been overshadowed by an intense controversy.
After the men’s Olympic hockey team secured their win, President Trump called the team to congratulate them while they were in the locker room. He invited the team to the State of the Union address.
It is on that call where President Trump made a distasteful joke, claiming he would be potentially “impeached” if he did not also invite the gold medal winning women’s team who had captured their win the previous week.
“I must tell you, we’re gonna have to bring the women’s team — you do know that,” Trump said over a speakerphone held by FBI Director Kash Patel, who was videoed celebrating with the team.
This prompted laughter from the men’s team, which critics found inappropriate. This led to a chain of events, with members of the U.S. men’s hockey team coming forward and emphasizing their patriotism and excitement to visit the White House regardless of political views.
The week prior, the United States women’s ice hockey team had won the gold medal, defeating Canada 2-1. The game was the most-watched women’s hockey game in history, reaching a point of 7.7 million viewers in overtime.
The Women’s Olympic Hockey team, established in 1998, has medaled in all eight of their Olympic Winter Games, winning gold in 1998, 2018 and 2026, alongside four silvers and one bronze.
By comparison, during their 22 appearances at the Winter Olympics since 1920, the U.S. men’s hockey team has now won three gold medals, eight silvers and one bronze. This is their first gold medal in 46 years, following a 22-year medal drought.
Following the call, Trump did indeed invite the women’s team to the State of the Union, however, the video of him joking about their win had already gone viral. The women’s team sternly rejected the invitation to the State of the Union, citing Trump’s previous comments.
Team USA women’s hockey captain, Hilary Knight, responded to the dispute.
“I think the guys were in a tough spot, so I think it’s a shame this storyline and narrative has kind of blown up and is overshadowing that connection and genuine interest in one another and cheering each other on,” Knight explained.
Michael Buckley, goal tending coach for the U.S. men’s hockey team, spoke directly on the phone with The Flying Onion. He emphasized that he’d rather have the focus remain on the historic victory.
“The men haven’t won in years, and this team earned that moment,” Buckley said. “It’s unfortunate that controversy is overshadowing both the men and women’s incredible achievements on the ice.”
During last week’s SNL opening monologue, both the men’s team captains and the women’s team captains made an appearance together, signifying their repaired friendship.
“It was going to be just us, but we thought we’d invite the guys, too,” joked Hilary Knight, one of the women’s team captains.
