Trump says US women's hockey team will 'soon' visit White House after declining SOTU invitation
President Donald Trump said during his State of the Union address that the gold-medal-winning United States women’s ice hockey team will "soon" head to the White House to celebrate their victory in Milan.
"They beat a fantastic Canadian team in overtime as everybody saw, as did the American women who will soon be coming to the White House," Trump said as the men’s hockey team was being saluted by everyone inside the House chamber during the State of the Union address.
It’s unknown if the women’s hockey team accepted an invitation to the White House.
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USA Hockey and the White House have not immediately responded to a request for comment by Fox News Digital.
The women’s team declined Trump’s invitation to attend his State of the Union address on Tuesday night in Washington, D.C., citing "previously scheduled academic and professional commitments."
"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," USA Hockey told NBC News. "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 received criticism for what some viewed as disrespect toward the women’s team while on a phone call with the men’s team after their overtime victory over Canada on Sunday. While Jack Hughes quickly became an American hero with his gold-medal-winning goal, Megan Keller did the same thing in overtime three days before his to defeat Canada in their matchup.
During the viral clip of Trump’s phone call to the men’s team, he said that he would "have" to invite the women’s team to the State of the Union, too, otherwise, "I probably would be impeached."
While controversy stirred on social media around the moment, Hughes’ mother, Ellen Hughes, who serves as a player development consultant for Team USA women’s ice hockey, explained she was not bothered by Trump’s comments.
"These players, both the men and women, can bring so much unity to a group and to a country," she told "Today." "People that cheered on that don’t watch hockey, people that have politics on one side or on the other side, and that’s all both the men’s team and the women’s team care about."
"If you could see what we see from the inside, and the men and women sharing, you know, dorm rooms and halls and flex floors and the camaraderie and the synergy and the way the women cheered on the men and the way the men cheered on the women — that’s what it’s all about," she continued. "And the other things they cannot control. They care about humanity. They care about unity, and they care about the country."
And while some were displeased by the men’s team laughing at Trump’s joke on the call, Quinn Hughes, the brother of Jack and hero in the quarterfinal overtime win with his goal over Sweden, explained how "amazing" it was to spend time with the women’s team throughout the weeks in Milan.
They were in attendance, as well as other men’s hockey players, to watch as the women’s team took home gold.
"Me and Jack were there, we watched them win the gold medal," Quinn said. "They came to our game and were able to watch us. So, just the support back and forth, just to get to know them a little better was special, too."
During Trump’s address, he also announced that men’s hockey goalie Connor Hellebuyck, whose 41-save performance was needed to force overtime to allow Hughes his golden opportunity, would receive the Medal of Freedom – the U.S. civilian honor – for his efforts in the game. Trump said he consulted with the team during their time in the Oval Office earlier on Tuesday.
Fox News' Ryan Morik contributed to this report.
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