President Donald Trump is a well-documented fan of “locker room talk,” particularly that which mercilessly mocks women. He proved this yet again during a congratulatory call with the national men’s U.S. hockey team, praising them for their 2-1 gold medal win against Canada at the Winter Olympics yesterday.
In a video posted by the White House’s “Rapid Response” X account, the team huddles around FBI Director Kash Patel’s phone (who was on the scene for some reason) as Trump tells the athletes that he’ll fly them out to attend Tuesday’s State of the Union address and host them for a White House visit afterward. He then jokes that they’ll “have to” bring the women’s hockey team too, so that he “doesn’t get impeached.”
The president is referring to the same women’s team that also beat Canada at the Olympics last week—earning their third gold medal. (By comparison, the men’s team’s only other gold came 46 years ago.) The women’s roster also includes Laila Edwards, the first-ever Black woman in history to win gold in hockey. But despite our national women’s hockey team’s prestige, the men’s team athletes did not appear to object to the joke; you can hear several players laughing at the President’s remark.
This afternoon, the national women’s team released a (very gracious) statement declining the White House’s State of the Union invitation:
“We are sincerely grateful for the invitation extended to our gold medal-winning U.S. Women’s Hockey Team and deeply appreciate the recognition of their extraordinary achievement,” it reads. “Due to the timing and previously scheduled academic and professional commitments following the Games, the athletes are unable to participate. They were honored to be included and are grateful for the acknowledgment.”
Trump’s remarks during the call have been widely scrutinized on social media, with users calling out the misogyny and questioning why FBI Director Kash Patel was in the locker room to facilitate the call in the first place, rather than, you know, running the FBI.
Patel responded to this backlash in an X post last night: “For the very concerned media - yes, I love America and was extremely humbled when my friends, the newly minted Gold Medal winners on Team USA, invited me into the locker room to celebrate this historic moment with the boys- Greatest country on earth and greatest sport on earth.”
The men’s hockey team has yet to confirm whether they will attend Tuesday’s address. Meanwhile, the Professional Women’s Hockey League will resume its regular season this Thursday, in case you’d like to keep supporting some of our country’s gold-winning athletes now that the Games have concluded.
Annabel Iwegbue is a culture editor at Cosmopolitan, where she primarily covers pop culture, lifestyle, relationships, and digital trends. She previously wrote for Harper's Bazaar, The Knockturnal, and Black Film. She's originally from Charleston, South Carolina, and is currently based in Brooklyn, New York. She holds a B.A. in Journalism and Cinema Studies from New York University. You can check out some of Annabel’s work here and also find her on Instagram and Twitter.
