Overview
- USA Hockey said the women’s Olympic champions declined President Trump’s State of the Union invitation due to pre‑scheduled academic and professional commitments and tight travel windows after returning on commercial flights.
- The men’s gold medalists accepted the invitation, met the president at the White House and were highlighted during the State of the Union after flying to Washington on a U.S. military aircraft.
- Team captain Hilary Knight called the White House overture “a bad joke” on ESPN, while U.S. goalie Jeremy Swayman said players “should have reacted differently” to the locker‑room banter; Trump said a women’s visit would happen “soon,” which USA Hockey has not confirmed.
- FBI Director Kash Patel appeared in the men’s locker room wearing a USA jersey, drinking and being doused as a player briefly placed a gold medal on him; he defended his presence, and the FBI said he traveled to Italy for official meetings on a Department of Justice aircraft as Democrats seek inquiries into his travel.
- Trump phoned into the postgame celebration to invite both teams and later posted an AI‑generated video on Truth Social that mocked Canada and showed him scoring the winning goal.