‘Greatest Country In The World’: Team USA Hockey Stars Meet With Trump Ahead Of SOTU

Fresh off their thrilling 2-1 overtime win in the men’s hockey gold medal game in Milan, the Team USA squad met with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office. They will then attend Tuesday night’s State of the Union address as guests of the president.

As the players celebrated in the locker room following their thrilling win on Sunday, Trump called them on speakerphone to offer congratulations and the invitation. “We’re giving the State of the Union speech on Tuesday night. I could send a military plane or something. … We’ll get Kash and we’ll get the military to get you guys over,” the president said.

The men’s team, led by stars like Jack Hughes, Quinn Hughes, and Matthew Tkachuk, quickly arranged travel back to the U.S. in order to accept the invitation.

By Tuesday morning, 20 members of the team touched down in Washington, D.C., at Joint Base Andrews. Dressed in matching navy “USA” sweaters adorned with the American flag and Olympic rings, they proudly wore their gold medals around their necks.

The group posed for photos in front of the White House, arms linked in a show of unity, before heading inside for the main event.

AMERICA'S FINEST: Team USA Men's Hockey has officially arrived at the White House ahead of the State of the Union address 🇺🇸🇺🇸 @MargoMartin47 pic.twitter.com/ZEPfaNATBP

— Fox News (@FoxNews) February 24, 2026

The highlight of the day was the Oval Office meeting around midday. President Trump welcomed the athletes with handshakes and warm greetings, as captured in videos shared by White House staffer Margo Martin.

In a lighthearted exchange, forward Matthew Tkachuk offered his gold medal to Trump for a photo op. Trump placed it around his neck and quipped, “Yeah, absolutely. I’m not giving it back.”

Tkachuk responded by stating that he would “trade” the medal for an Oval Office pen, which Trump jokingly accepted.

Matthew Tkachuk has @POTUS put on his gold medal!

“I’m not giving it back” 🤣 pic.twitter.com/QAR03fOzoe

— Margo Martin (@MargoMartin47) February 24, 2026

President Trump also invited the women’s team to the event, which also emerged victorious in the gold medal game with an electric overtime goal of their own. The team opted not to accept, citing other obligations, though mainstream media outlets attempted to spin a political narrative out of the refusal.

Jack Hughes — who scored the golden goal on Sunday — pushed back at the framing by emphasizing patriotism and celebration of the accomplishments of both teams. “Everything is so political. We’re athletes. We’re so proud to represent the U.S., and when you get the chance to go to the White House, meet the president, you know, we’re proud to be Americans, that’s so patriotic,” he said. “No matter what your views are, we’re super excited to go to the White House and just be part of that.”

Team USA superstar Matthew Tkachuk expressed similar sentiments while speaking with Fox News. The United States of America, the greatest country in the world deserves this because we’ve been knocking at the door for a long time and we’ve got the game of hockey right now and I’m so honored to be a part of this team,” he said.

🚨 USA HOCKEY CHAMPION MATTHEW TKACHUK JUST SAID IT, NO APOLOGIES: "We really pride ourselves on being true AMERICANS that would do ANYTHING it takes for this country."

This is seriously how it's done.

These men are a MASTERCLASS. 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/y3YxnPEiQ4

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) February 24, 2026

The whirlwind day is set to culminate with the team’s appearance at the president’s State of the Union address, which is scheduled to begin at 9 p.m. Eastern Time.

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