President had joked
US ice hockey women turn down Trump invitation
Updated on 02/24/2026 – 07:29 amReading time: 2 minutes
After their Olympic gold, the US ice hockey players decided not to visit President Trump. He had joked about the invitation in front of her male colleagues.
The US ice hockey Olympic champions have turned down an invitation from President Donald Trump. “We are sincerely grateful for the invitation to our gold medal-winning U.S. women’s ice hockey team and greatly appreciate the recognition of their exceptional performance,” the selection said in a statement. “However, due to the timing and previously agreed academic and professional commitments after the Games, the athletes will not be able to participate.”
There was initially no official reaction from the White House. The US women secured gold at the Winter Games in Italy on Thursday. The ice hockey men achieved this on Sunday in the final against arch-rivals Canada (2:1). The victory was celebrated as “Miracle on Ice 2.0” – a reminiscence of the legendary “Miracle on Ice” from 1980 at the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, where the US amateurs defeated the favored Soviet Union 4-3. Numerous Republican politicians took this as an opportunity to put themselves in the spotlight. President Trump made a joke at the expense of the women’s hockey team. This could be a reason for cancellation.
The trigger was a video that circulated on social media. It shows the dressing room of the US ice hockey men immediately after their gold triumph. In the video you can see Trump’s FBI Director Kash Patel celebrating wildly in the dressing room with the newly crowned Olympic champions. The 45-year-old secret service director wears a USA jersey and jumps around freely among the NHL stars.
Then he opens a bottle of beer and pours it vertically down his throat. He spills the rest of the contents among the players and slams his fist on a table several times. Patel and the players sing the controversial song “Courtesy of Red, White and Blue” by country singer Toby Keith – a militant declaration of war against America’s enemies.
Shortly afterwards the US President calls. His message to the players: “On Tuesday we are giving the State of the Union address. I could send a military plane. If you want…”. For this he receives cheers from the players. Then he says: “I have to tell you, we have to bring the women’s team with us, you know that.” Otherwise there would probably be impeachment proceedings against him, jokes the president. The ice hockey men laugh.
The video sparked some strong reactions on social media, and Patel was also criticized for his appearance. The FBI director later defended himself on
