President Donald Trump invited both the USA men’s and women’s hockey teams to his State of the Union address after each squad captured Olympic gold with overtime wins over Canada.
The USA women’s hockey team declined the invitation, citing academic and professional commitments that were already locked in before the invite came through. Trump’s comments come after the USA’s women’s hockey team won an exciting overtime thriller at the Olympics, defeating Canada, 2-1. The squad won gold at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy last Thursday, knocking off Canada in the final.
The decision went public a day after Trump made a joke during a call with the men’s team, saying he would probably face impeachment if he left the women out. NBC News correspondent Monica Alba broke the news, noting that a team spokesperson expressed gratitude for the recognition but confirmed the players could not make it work with their schedules.
Trump’s original invite went to the men’s team Sunday night, right after they finished off their own overtime thriller against Canada. During that call, he brought up the women’s squad and cracked a joke about needing to include them or risk political fallout.