The United States women’s hockey team, who recently clinched the gold medal, has respectfully turned down an invitation from President Donald Trump to attend his upcoming State of the Union address.
In a statement issued on Monday, the women’s team expressed their gratitude for the invitation, emphasizing their appreciation for being recognized for their remarkable victory. They explained that due to prior academic and professional commitments following the Games, they would be unable to attend. The team conveyed their honor at being acknowledged and thanked the President for the invitation.
President Trump had also extended an invitation to the U.S. men’s hockey team, who also won gold.
The timing posed a significant challenge, with the NHL regular season resuming with five games on Wednesday and the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) restarting on Thursday.
Travel logistics were a factor, as many of the female players were not set to return to North America until Monday evening. Meanwhile, the men’s team had already flown by charter to Miami earlier in the day, while the women’s team was on a commercial flight scheduled to land in Atlanta.
According to a source familiar with the situation, the women’s team was only informed of the invitation late Sunday night, making it nearly impossible to alter their travel arrangements. The source requested anonymity as they were not authorized to discuss the team’s travel details publicly.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the status of both teams.
When extending the invitation to the men’s team on Sunday night, Trump said, “I must tell you, we’re going to have to bring the women’s team, you do know that.” Trump joked that if he did not also invite the women’s team, “I do believe I probably would be impeached.”
The Olympic tournament featured two thrilling medal finals, both ending in overtime, with the American women beating Canada 2-1 in the gold medal game on Thursday. The U.S. men beat Canada on Sunday.
“It’s been a whirlwind, it’s been amazing. It’s a dream of ours, it was such an amazing way to unite the country,” Matthew Tkachuk of the U.S. men’s team said after arriving in Miami.
“We felt the support being across the Atlantic and now being back on home soil we could feel it the second the wheels hit the ground. So excited to be back in the greatest country in the world and so excited to celebrate.”
Tkachuk said it was an honor to hear from Trump after the win. “And so we are definitely honored to represent him and the millions and millions across the country.”
Vice President JD Vance attended two of the U.S. women’s preliminary round wins with his family over the first week of the Games.
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AP writers Stephen Whyno, Charles Odum in Atlanta, and Freida Frisaro in Miami contributed to this report.
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