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Trump invites US men's hockey team to State of the Union speech after Olympic triumph
By Ryan Gaydos
Published February 23, 2026
President Donald Trump invited the U.S. men’s Olympic hockey team to his State of the Union address after the squad won the gold medal at the Milan Cortina Olympics 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 in order 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’d be calling, I said we’re giving the State of the Union speech on Tuesday night," Trump said. "I can send a military plane or something, but if you would like to, it’s the coolest night, it’s the biggest speech …"
One player cut off Trump and said, "We’re in."
"We’ll get Kash, and we’ll get the military to get you guys over," Trump continued. "You won’t have to worry about the weather or landing. We don’t care if it’s snowing or if it’s the worst blizzard – we’ll be sailing 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 game 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 goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, who stopped 41 shots.
"By the way, your goalie played not bad. … I’ve seen hockey goalies have slightly worse games. Unbelievable and you were all unbelievable. The team is pretty good, you played," he said.
United States' 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 appeared to be excited about the president’s call and seemed eager at the chance of joining the president in D.C. for the State of the Union.
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https://www.foxnews.com/sports/trump-invites-us-mens-hockey-team-state-union-speech-after-olympic-triumph