“People are so negative”: Jack Hughes responds to backlash after Donald Trump joke about women’s Olympic hockey team

Jack Hughes did not back down, the 24 year old Team USA men’s hockey star spoke out after strong backlash hit his team. The reaction started when a video showed President Donald Trump joking about the U.S.

women’s Olympic hockey team during a phone call. Trump was congratulating the men after their gold medal win at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina. He invited them to the State of the Union. Then he joked that he would “have to bring the women’s team” too, adding that if he did not, he would “probably be impeached.” Players were heard laughing in the room.Many fans were upset online. Some asked the men’s team to reject the White House visit.

But Jack Hughes told the Daily Mail on Monday in Miami that the moment was being blown out of proportion.“Everything is so political,” Hughes said at the team’s victory party. “People are so negative out there and they are just trying to find a reason to put people down and make something out of almost nothing.” The women’s hockey team declined the State of the Union invite because of schedule conflicts. “They’ve got busy schedules, too,” Hughes said, defending them.

Jack Hughes defends White House visit after Donald Trump joke as Ellen Hughes stresses unity between men’s and women’s teams

Jack Hughes, who plays for the New Jersey Devils in the NHL, made it clear he was proud of the White House visit. He did not apologize.“We’re athletes,” Hughes told the Daily Mail. “We’re so proud to represent the U.S., and when you get the chance to go to the White House and meet the president, we’re proud to be Americans and that’s so patriotic.”He added, “No matter what your views are, we’re super excited to go to the White House tomorrow and be a part of that.”Hughes also spoke about the close bond between the men’s and women’s teams. “I think everyone in that locker room knows how much we support them, how proud we are of them and we know the same way we feel about them, they feel about us,” he said.His mother, Ellen Hughes, who works as a player development consultant for Team USA women’s ice hockey, shared a similar message in an interview with Today. “At the end of the day, it’s just about the country,” she said.She explained that both teams care about unity. “These players, both the men and women, can bring so much unity to a group and to a country,” she said. “And the other things they cannot control. They care about humanity. They care about unity and they care about the country.”Team USA men’s hockey beat Canada 2 to 1 in overtime in the gold medal game Sunday, sealing the Olympic title.