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United States women’s hockey captain Hilary Knight was once again outspoken against President Donald Trump’s quip regarding her team.
While on the phone with the men’s team after they had won gold, Trump said he would “have” to invite the women’s team, which also beat Canada to win the Olympics, to last week’s State of the Union address, otherwise, he “probably would be impeached.”
In a recent appearance on Ilona Maher’s podcast, Knight reiterated her previous sentiment that Trump made a “distasteful joke” but again gave the men the benefit of the doubt about being in a “tough environment.”
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Hilary Knight poses for a photo during the U.S. Olympic Team Media Summit in preparation for the 2026 Milan Olympic Winter Games at Javits Center on Oct. 29, 2025. (Robert Deutsch/Imagn Images)
However, Knight said that the phone call and the reaction are “a wonderful teaching point.”
“What we accomplished isn’t laughable. It is a very complex issue regarding what goes on behind closed doors and how women are represented in different conversations, but at the end of the day, none of that should be put on us to explain someone’s behavior,” Knight said. “What should be happening is celebrating all of the women and their amazing feats — specifically our team and the men’s team as well — and how the women carried themselves at the Olympics, which was epic.
“While the situation was distasteful, getting back into our different communities and seeing the overwhelming support on social media has been outstanding. We are being celebrated in the way that we need to be. I am excited and looking forward to continuing those conversations and using this as a learning point for how we talk about women, not only in sport but in other industries. It should never be less than. It should always be about championing women and supporting one another. Throughout the tournament, I think both teams did an incredible job of having genuine support and establishing friendships together. This is a learning point, and we are going to continue to move forward, but I’m excited to celebrate all of our success as badass women on the world stage doing our thing.”
Hilary Knight of Team United States looks on in the second period during the Women’s Playoffs Semifinal match between the United States and Sweden on Day 10 of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on Feb. 16, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
Jeremy Swayman, the men’s team’s backup goaltender, admitted the team “should have reacted differently” to Trump’s comments. But he and Jack and Quinn Hughes all spoke highly of the women’s team and their relationships with them.
“We know that we are so excited for the women’s team. We have so much respect for the women’s team. To share that gold medal with them is something we’re forever grateful for,” Swayman said.
Jack Hughes told reporters after the game that the first thing he thought about when the puck went in was Megan Keller, who scored the golden goal for the United States women’s team against Canada three days earlier.
The brothers’ mother, Ellen, a former Team USA player and current player development staff member, said the players only cared about “bring[ing] so much unity to a group and to a country.”
United States’ Kendall Coyne, left, and United States’ Hilary Knight celebrate after the victory ceremony for women’s ice hockey at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, on Feb. 19, 2026. (Hassan Ammar/AP Photo)
Knight and Megan Keller, who scored the women’s golden goal, joined the Hughes brothers on this past weekend’s “Saturday Night Live.”
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