U.S. men’s hockey team to appear at Trump’s State of the Union with their gold medals, Johnson says
Washington — The gold-medal-winning U.S. men’s hockey team is expected to appear at President Trump’s State of the Union address Tuesday night, House Speaker Mike Johnson said ahead of the speech.
In an exclusive interview with “US News Hub Evening News” anchor Tony Dokoupil, Johnson said the team “will be there with their gold medals.”
“Logistics were a bit of a challenge last minute, but I think we’ll get that done,” Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, said.
The team visited the White House and met with Mr. Trump ahead of the president’s speech.
Dan Scavino, deputy chief of staff, shared a video of Mr. Trump greeting players in the Oval Office and said Team USA was in the West Wing “with patriotic music blaring out of the Roosevelt Room.”
“Look at these guys. I recognize every one of you. I know every one of you,” Mr. Trump told the team, remarking: “These are big guys.”
Margo Martin, special assistant to the president, shared a photo of the team standing on the South Lawn and a video of players walking down the colonnade.
Matthew Tkachuk, a forward on the men’s team, shared a photo to Instagram on Tuesday of himself and other players standing outside a government plane.
Martin later shared a video to X of the team posing with their gold medals with Mr. Trump in the Oval Office. In the video, Tkachuk gives Mr. Trump his own gold medal to wear for the photo.
“I’m not giving it back,” Mr. Trump jokes.
Mr. Trump invited the men’s and women’s hockey teams to his speech after the men defeated Canada 2-1 in the championship game at the Winter Olympics on Sunday in Milan to secure gold. The U.S. women’s team also beat their Canadian rivals 2-1 last week to win Olympic gold.
The women’s team declined Mr. Trump’s invitation to attend the State of the Union, citing scheduling conflicts.
“Due to the timing and previously scheduled academic and professional commitments following the Games, the athletes are unable to participate,” a USA Hockey spokesperson said in a statement. “They were honored to be included and are grateful for the acknowledgment.”
The president spoke with the men’s team by phone shortly after the championship game and said he would send a “military plane or something” to Miami to pick them up and bring them to Washington for the speech.
An Air Force spokesperson later confirmed to US News Hub News on Tuesday that members of the men’s hockey team flew from Miami to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland aboard an Air Force Boeing C-32 that was assigned to the 89th Airlift Wing “at the request of the president.”
“Supporting a mission like this requires detailed planning, coordination and a highly trained team of professionals who are prepared to operate anywhere in the world at a moment’s notice,” the Air Force spokesperson said. “Our crews remain ready to execute any mission they are tasked with in support of national priorities.”
Mr. Trump’s invitation to the hockey teams set off some logistical scrambling. Johnson said earlier Tuesday that while the State of the Union is a “very well-attended event” and the gallery in the House chamber is “already full,” he would figure out a way for the team to attend.
“Somehow, some way, we’ll squeeze in the hockey players tonight, and it’ll be a great moment for America, and it really is a symbol to all of us that we all play for America’s team, and I hope everybody will remember that tonight,” he said.
Watch more of House Speaker Mike Johnson’s exclusive interview with “US News Hub Evening News” anchor Tony Dokoupil tonight at 6:30 p.m. ET. US News Hub News coverage of the State of the Union address begins at 9 p.m. ET.
