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President Donald Trump invited the US men’s Olympic hockey team to his State of the Union address after the team won the gold medal at the Cortina Olympics in Milan on Sunday.
FBI Director Kash Patel was in the locker room with the team as they celebrated the win. He held a phone up to the players on speakerphone for Trump to deliver his message.
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United States players celebrate after scoring during a men’s ice hockey gold medal game between Canada and the United States at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
“I’ll tell you what. I just told my people two minutes ago, I didn’t know they were going to call, I said we’re giving the State of the Union address on Tuesday night,” Trump said. “I can send a military plane or something, but if you want, it’s the coolest night, it’s the biggest speech…”
One player cut Trump off and said, “We’re in.”
“We’re going to get Kash and we’re going to get the military to get you guys over,” Trump continued. “Don’t worry about the weather or landing. We don’t care if it’s snowing or if it’s the worst blizzard—we’ll sail through like you did on the ice.”
United States players celebrate after defeating Canada 2-1 in overtime to win the men’s ice hockey gold medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
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Trump said he would honor the team the next day with some more medals and said they would bring the women’s team up for the honor as well.
Trump also had kind words for goalie Connor Hellebuyck, who stopped 41 shots.
“By the way, your goalie didn’t play bad. … I’ve seen hockey goalies have slightly worse games. Unbelievable, and you all were unbelievable. The team is pretty good, you played,” he said.
USA’s Jack Hughes (86) celebrates after scoring during a men’s ice hockey gold medal game between Canada and the United States at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
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The team seemed excited by the president’s call and seemed eager for the chance to join the president in DC for the State of the Union.
