Brady Tkachuk defends Team USA’s reaction to Trump’s joke about women’s hockey
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Brady Tkachuk is back with his Ottawa Senators, and he stood up to a question about the dangerous moment when Team USA laughed at President Donald Trump’s joke about the women’s ice hockey team during a phone call after both teams won gold medals in Milan.
As players like Boston Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman admitted, players “should have reacted differently.”
Tkachuk responded to a reporter’s question when Trump said he would “have to” invite the women’s team, which also defeated Canada in the Olympics, to Tuesday’s State of the Union or “maybe he will be impeached.”
“Yes, I understand,” said Tkachuk when a reporter asked if he understood that the women’s team expressed displeasure with the way the men’s team did. “I don’t comment on anything other than the things we can’t control. We supported them. They supported us. We can’t control what other people say.”
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Brady Tkachuk (7) and Matthew Tkachuk (19) of the United States celebrate after their game against Team Canada during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena February 22, 2026. (Photos by Geoff Burke/Imagn)
Tkachuk added that it was “nice” to be in a women’s team while in Milan.
“It was nice to see them play, it was nice to see the beauty they brought to every game and the fact that they are the best team in that competition,” he said. “It was just nice to see them after the brain pick. They were picking our brains, it was just nice to be with them.”
Tkachuk was asked the following question about why he would laugh at Trump’s joke. He stood firm again.
“It was a temporary storm. You can’t control what someone says, and I think it caught on. [us] you’re a little cautious,” he said. “I mean, if you’re talking to the president 10 minutes after you’ve just fulfilled your dream, it’s just the fact that you’re talking to him,
“You really won’t believe where your life is when you’re talking to the president of the United States after winning a gold medal.”
Tkachuk was with his American teammates at Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday night, and the team applauded as the players showed off their Olympic gold medals.
A group of women declined an invitation to Washington, DC, citing “prior academic and professional commitments.” Trump said in the State of the Union address that a delegation of women will visit the White House “soon.”
Brady Tkachuk of the United States celebrates after winning the gold medal during the men’s gold medal game against Canada at the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games Feb. 22, 2026, Milan, Italy. (Catherine Steenkeste/Getty Images)
USA Hockey responded to Trump’s suggestion that the team would go to the White House.
“The players are back to compete with their professional teams and colleges and are in the middle of their season,” a USA Hockey spokesperson told Front Office Sports. “They are honored and grateful to be invited, and any opportunity to visit the White House as a team will be based on their plans when their seasons end.”
Despite the division on social media at this time, Ellen Hughes, the mother of Jack and Quinn Hughes, who participated in the final of Team USA in Milan as a player development project for the women’s team, did not seem to be bothered by Trump’s words.
“These players, men and women, can bring great unity to the team and the country,” he told “Today.” “People who enjoy that don’t watch hockey, people who are politically on one side or the other, and that’s all the men’s team and the women’s team care about.
Brady Tkachuk of the Ottawa Senators during warmups before the game against the Nashville Predators Oct. 13, 2025, at the Canadian Tire Center in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. (André Ringuette/NHLI)
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“If you could see what we see inside, the men and women sharing, you know, the bedrooms and the halls and the soft floors and the meeting and the meeting and the way the women were congratulating the men and the way the men were congratulating the women – that’s what it is,” he added.
“There are other things they can’t control. They care about humanity. They care about unity, and they care about the country.”
Fox News’ Ryan Morik contributed to this report.
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