The U.S. men's hockey team, fresh off a gold medal victory over Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, faced backlash for laughing at a joke by President Donald Trump about the women's team during a White House invitation. Retired U.S. women's soccer players criticized the response, while an AI-generated video targeting Canadian-born player Brady Tkachuk added to the controversy. Some team members defended the visit, emphasizing their role as athletes.
On Sunday, February 2026, the U.S. men's hockey team defeated Canada to win gold in the final at the Milan Olympics. Brady Tkachuk, a Canadian-born forward and captain of the NHL's Ottawa Senators, scored in the victory.
By Tuesday, Tkachuk and most teammates visited the Oval Office, where President Trump feted them. That evening, Trump introduced the team during his State of the Union address, receiving an ovation from Congress. During a pre-visit phone call, Trump joked that he would need to invite the gold-medal-winning U.S. women's hockey team to the White House to avoid impeachment, prompting laughter from the men's locker room.
The reaction drew sharp criticism from retired U.S. women's soccer stars. Abby Wambach, on her podcast 'Welcome to the Party,' said the men should 'knock it all the (expletive) way off' and 'stop (expletive) laughing at things that aren't funny.' Julie Foudy suggested the team boycott the State of the Union for 'accountability.' Megan Rapinoe called the call 'wretched' at a news conference, referencing her past stances against White House visits.
Complicating matters, the White House posted an AI-generated video on TikTok, viewed over 10 million times, falsely showing Tkachuk saying, 'They booed our national anthem, so I had to come out and teach those maple syrup–eating fucks a lesson' and 'Canada, we own you, little bro.' On Thursday, after a skate in Ontario, Tkachuk dismissed it as 'clearly fake,' noting it was not his voice or lip movements and that such words 'would never come out of my mouth.' He described the White House laughter as occurring in 'a whirlwind of a moment' and did not apologize for it. He also denied a rumored locker room comment about closing the northern border.
Team reactions varied. Jack Hughes said, 'Everything is so political. We're athletes, we're proud to represent the U.S. – When you get the chance to go to the White House and meet the President, no matter what your views are, we're excited.' His brother Quinn Hughes added it would be 'special.' Players like Charlie McAvoy and Jeremy Swayman issued apologies for the laughter, while others offered limited regrets.
FBI Director Kash Patel joined the locker room celebration, invited by general manager Bill Guerin. Sources describe hockey culture as conservative, with many players leaning Republican.
