US President Donald Trump’s viral locker room phone call to the US men’s ice hockey team after their historic gold at the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics sparked a familiar cultural firestorm when he joked that inviting the women’s team, which also won gold, to his State of the Union address was less a choice and more a legal necessity.
In a video shared online shortly after the win, Trump can be heard on speakerphone during a call with the men’s team, inviting them to the address before saying, “We’re going to have to bring the women’s team, you know that? The players laughed, and Trump added, “I believe I would probably be indicted” if he hadn’t invited them.
US Women’s Team Declined Invitation ‘Because of Timing’
The U.S. women’s ice hockey team declined an invitation to attend the State of the Union, citing the timing of the speech.
A statement on behalf of the women’s team said: “We are sincerely grateful for the invitation,” but that the players will not be attending “due to timing and pre-planned academic and professional commitments.”
During a visit to the U.S. men’s hockey team that won the Olympic gold medal, Trump announced that the women’s hockey team, which also beat Canada for gold, would visit the White House “soon.” Men’s players showing thumbs up when viewed from above.
5 members of the US men’s team will miss the visit to the White House
About 20 members of the U.S. men’s ice hockey team arrived at the White House Tuesday afternoon, ahead of an evening speech at the Capitol, wearing Team USA sweaters.
According to US media reports, at least five members of the men’s team did not participate, with players saying they were heading back to their NHL teams for training.
The U.S. Olympic men’s ice hockey team also faced backlash for laughing during a viral call with Trump.
Trump and “impeachment” jokes.
The “impeachment joke” has become a staple of Trump’s rhetorical toolbox—a way to turn a serious constitutional process into a punch line of “political correctness.”
In his world, the word “impeachment” is no longer a legal threat, but shorthand for whatever he feels pressured by the “establishment” to do.
Trump has long used the threat of impeachment to mock trivial or culturally sensitive situations. One of the most famous precedents occurred during the 2019 Turkey Pardon, where he joked that turkeys had already received subpoenas to appear in “Adam Schiff’s basement.”
By 2026, this trope has evolved; instead of mocking the process itself, he began to use it to label social obligations as a burden. His base joke signals that he is “forced” to recognize women’s achievements by an invisible “awakened” jury.
A pattern of “locker room” layoffs
This isn’t the first time Trump’s relationship with women’s champion teams has been defined by friction. In 2019, a public feud with Megan Rapinoe and the US Women’s National Soccer Team led him to withdraw from invitationals and instructed players to “win first before they talk”.
