U.S. Women's Hockey Team Turns Down Trump's State of the Union Invitation

The U.S. women’s ice hockey team has declined President Donald Trump’s invitation to attend his State of the Union address following their gold-medal victory over Canada at the Winter Olympics. “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,” a spokesperson from USA Hockey said in a statement to media outlets on Monday. “Due to the timing and previously scheduled academic and professional commitments following the Games, the athletes are unable to participate.” Trump also invited the U.S. men’s hockey team to attend the address following their own overtime gold-medal win against Canada at the Milano Cortina Games. “We’re giving the State of the Union speech on Tuesday night. I could send a military plane or something, if you would like to. It’s the coolest night. It’s the biggest speech,” Trump said to the team in their locker room over speakerphone as he congratulated them for winning the U.S.’s first gold medal in men’s hockey in 46 years. “I must tell you, we’re gonna have to bring the women’s team, you do know that,” the President added, according to videos of the exchange on X. He added that if he didn’t invite them, “I do believe I probably would be impeached, OK?”, a comment that drew laughter from the players. Trump added that he wanted to honor the men’s team at the White House on Wednesday night. The men’s team has not made a statement about how they will respond to either invitation from Trump. Prior to the women’s team declining to attend, House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters on Monday that there was “no way to have special guests on the floor” for the State of the Union “because it’s a literal session of Congress,” but that House officials were trying to work out a way to “accommodate” the teams for the speech. Read more: How U.S. Women’s Hockey Took Gold and Glory in Incredible Overtime Win Over Canada In addition to Trump speaking to players over speakerphone, the White House and the President also touted the men’s team’s win over Canada on social media. Responding to a post from Canada’s former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau following Canada’s win over the U.S. in the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament last February that read ”You can’t take our country—and you can’t take our game,” the White House posted a photo of a bald eagle pinning down a Canadian goose. Trump, responding to the same past comment from Trudeau, shared what appeared to be an AI-generated video of himself checking and scoring against the Canadian hockey team. Following the U.S. women’s team’s earlier victory over Canada, the White House account posted, “WE ARE SO BACK. RED, WHITE, & BLUE RUNNING THROUGH OUR VEINS.” Meanwhile, Federal Bureau of Investigations Director Kash Patel, who appeared to facilitate the call between the President and the men’s hockey team, came under fire after videos of him celebrating and drinking with the men’s team—coinciding with several high-profile security events over the weekend—were released on social media. Images of Patel in a box at the men’s final also circulated. During Patel’s trip to Milan, Italy, law enforcement officers shot and killed an armed man at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, an incident the FBI director posted about on X. His time in Italy also came amid Trump’s consideration of strikes on Iran; the killing of drug kingpin “El Mencho” in a Mexican military raid using U.S. intelligence; and the ongoing search for Nancy Guthrie, the mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie. “For the very concerned media – yes, I love America and was extremely humbled when my friends, the newly minted Gold Medal winners on Team USA, invited me into the locker room to celebrate this historic moment with the boys,” Patel posted on X on Sunday night in response to online scrutiny over his attendance at the game and celebration with the players as those events played out elsewhere. “Greatest country on earth and greatest sport on earth.” Following the Olympics, players from both U.S. hockey teams are returning to their respective teams in the National Hockey League (NHL), the Women’s Hockey League (WHL), and on the college level. The NHL resumes games on Wednesday, and the WHL the following day.