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President Donald Trump’s phone call to the United States men’s Olympic hockey team sparked controversy after laughter followed mention of the women’s team.
While on the phone with the team after they won gold, Trump said he “should” invite the women’s team, which also beat Canada to win the Olympics, to Tuesday’s State of the Union — otherwise, he “would probably be impeached.”
The joke made the locker room laugh, which the American team’s backup goalkeeper, Jeremy Swayman, seemed to regret.
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Goaltender Jeremy Swayman of the United States during the Ice Hockey Group C Preliminary match between the United States and Denmark on day eight of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on February 14, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Jean Catuffe/Getty Images)
“We should have reacted differently,” Swayman told reporters Wednesday when asked about the phone call.
Members of the men’s team, including Jack and Quinn Hughes, made it a point to mention that the teams celebrated and supported each other throughout the Olympics.
Swayman also emphasized this point.
“We know we’re very excited for the women’s team. We have so much respect for the women’s team. Sharing this gold medal with them is something we will be forever grateful for,” he said.
The women’s team refused an invitation to Washington, D.C., citing scheduling conflicts. But Trump said they would visit the White House in due course.
Jack Hughes told reporters after the game that the first thing he thought of when the puck went in was Megan Keller, who scored the U.S. women’s team’s golden goal against Canada three days earlier.
Team USA gold medalist Jeremy Swayman celebrates after the men’s gold medal match between Canada and the United States on day 16 of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics at the Milan Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on February 22, 2026, in Milan, Italy. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
Hughes’ brother Quinn, who scored an overtime goal against Sweden last week, said it was “amazing to spend time” with the women’s team at the Olympic Village.
The brothers’ mother, Ellen, a former Team USA player and current member of the player development team, did not seem bothered by Trump’s comments.
“These players, men and women, can bring so much unity to a group and a country,” she told “Today”. “The people who cheered don’t watch hockey, the people who have politics one way or the other, and that’s all the men’s team and the women’s team care about.
Jeremy Swayman of Team USA watches the Men’s Group C Preliminary match between the United States and Denmark on day eight of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on February 14, 2026, in Milan, Italy. (Catherine Steenkeste/Getty Images)
“If you could see what we see from the inside, and the men and women sharing, you know, the dorms and the hallways and the flexible floors and the camaraderie and the synergy and the way the women encourage the men and the way the men encourage the women, that’s what it’s all about,” she continued. “And the other things they can’t control. They care about humanity. They care about unity and they care about the country.”
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