Ice-Cold Snub: U.S. Women's Hockey Team Rejects Trump's State of the Union Invite After Prez's 'Impeachment' Joke During Leaked Phone Call With Men's Champions
The U.S. women's hockey team declined Donald Trump's invitation.
Feb. 23 2026, Published 4:00 p.m. ET
The U.S. women's hockey team has officially rejected Donald Trump's invitation to his State of the Union address on February 24 after he made an awkward joke about inviting them, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
On Monday, February 23, a USA Hockey spokesperson released an official statement that said the team would be "unable" to join them at the Capitol this week.
Why Did the U.S. Women's Hockey Team Turn Down Trump's Invitation?
A rep for the U.S. women's hockey team said they 'deeply appreciate' Donald Trump's invitation.
In their announcement, they noted they are "sincerely grateful" for his invitation and "deeply appreciate" their "extraordinary achievement" being recognized.
"Due to the timing and previously scheduled academic and professional commitments following the Games, the athletes are unable to participate," they added.
The U.S. women's hockey team deciding not to attend Trump's State of the Union comes fresh on the heels of him awkwardly bringing them up in a phone call with the men's hockey team.
Donald Trump's Phone Call With the U.S. Men's Team
Kash Patel said he was 'f------ on it' when Donald Trump asked him to bring Team USA to the State of the Union address.
FBI Director Kash Patel was in the men's locker room when he phoned Trump, who praised the men's hockey team and invited them to his forthcoming speech.
"We’ll get Kash, and we’ll get the military to get you guys," he stated.
After Patel insisted he's "got it," Trump questioned, "You got it, Kash?"
"I'm on it, I'm f------ on it," Patel answered.
Trump then joked about having to invite the women's team, saying: "I must tell you, we’re going to have to bring the women’s team, you do know that. I think if I didn’t do that, I do believe I probably would be impeached."
Players were heard laughing at the Prez's remarks, including Jack Hughes, whose mother serves as a player development consultant for the women’s team.
Female Teams' History With the Trump Administration
Prior to 2019, no women's team had ever made a solo visit to the White House under Donald Trump.
Although the women's hockey team turned down Trump's invitation, it is unclear if the POTUS actually reached out to invite them personally.
Prior to 2019, no women's team had ever made a solo visit to the White House under Trump, which was a marked change of course from Trump's predecessors. Rather than being honored by themselves, many of the women's teams were looped in with larger ceremonies for non-revenue-generating sports.
Following their NCAA title in 2019, the Baylor Lady Bears were the first women's championship team to make a solo White House visit under Trump.
Donald Trump Praised the Men's Team
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Donald Trump promised the U.S. men's team medals.
Trump took to Truth Social to congratulate the men's hockey team – but he did not mention the women's team's achievements at the time.
"Congratulations to our great U.S.A. Ice Hockey team," he shared. "THEY WON THE GOLD. WOW!” he wrote. “LOTS OF WINNING!!!"
In his aforementioned call with the men's team, Trump also promised them a White House visit and medals, noting it would be the "coolest night."
"The nice thing about being president is I can tell you, you don’t have to worry about the weather or landing," he shared. "We don’t care if it’s snowing, or if it’s the worst blizzard, you’ll be sailing through that sucker just like you did on the ice today. We’ll do the White House the next day. We’ll just have some fun. We have medals for you guys."
