Team USA hockey stars slammed for laughing at Donald Trump joke on phone call | Other | Sport
A video of Donald Trump congratulating Team USA’s men’s hockey players has sparked backlash after the US president joked about the nation’s women’s team following Sunday’s Winter Olympics triumph. The call occurred shortly after Mike Sullivan’s side secured a 2-1 overtime victory against rivals Canada, mere days after the US women’s team had claimed gold in equally dramatic circumstances.
FBI director Kash Patel attended Sunday’s final in Milan and joined the dressing room celebrations, with footage showing him downing a beer and celebrating with the team. In another clip that emerged on Sunday evening, Patel appeared to have arranged a call with the president. He is seen holding his phone as Trump congratulates the players on their gold medal.
At one stage, President Trump invited the hockey squad to attend his State of the Union address on Tuesday evening. “I can send a military plane or something. If you would like to, it’s the coolest night,” said Trump, much to the team’s delight.
“The nice thing about being president is you don’t have to worry about the weather or landing. We don’t care if it’s snowing, if it’s the worst blizzard. We will do the White House the next day, we will just have some fun, we have medals for you guys.”
The president then cracked a joke that left the team in stitches, quipping: “And I must tell you, we are going to have to bring the women’s team, you do know that.” Trump then added, if he didn’t extend an invitation: “I do believe I would probably be impeached!”
The men’s team’s response has ignited discussion online, with many criticising the players’ reaction as indicative of a lack of unity between the two teams.
“They’re all spineless,” penned one disgruntled fan, whilst another chimed in: “Just dispiriting to see this lol women’s sports will always be a punchline to them no matter how much phony lip service they pay.”
Coach Sullivan later provided further insight into the call after leading Team USA to their first men’s hockey gold since 1980.
“He just spoke to the group expressing how proud he was of the group and congratulating everybody on the win,’ Sullivan disclosed. “Obviously this game in a lot of ways was an inspiration to our country.
“I can’t tell you how many texts I’ve received over the last day or so about watch parties at eight in the morning. I think from a viewership standpoint in the United States, there were a lot of people paying attention, the president included.”
Captain Auston Matthews added: “We’re all proud Americans, obviously. This is a huge moment for us. A huge moment for the United States. He called, just congratulated us.”
