United States Olympic ice hockey star Jack Hughes reacted to the backlash the team received from a viral video showing them laughing at a joke made by President Donald Trump about the U.S. women's ice hockey team during a phone call they received in the locker room after their 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics gold medal game win against Canada on Sunday (February 22).

The video showed FBI Director Kash Patel holding a cellphone with Trump on speaker inviting the gold medal-winning United States men's ice hockey team to the State of the Union address and joking that he "would be impeached" if he didn't also invite the women's team, who had also defeated Canada to win gold, the first time both the men's and women's American ice hockey teams won their respective tournaments at the same Olympic event, which drew laughs from the players.

"Everyone is giving us backlash for all the social media stuff today. 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," Jack Hughes said during an interview outside of the nightclub E11even Miami, where the team celebrated its gold medal victory Monday (February 23), via ESPN.

Hughes, whose mother, Ellen, played for and serves as a consultant for the U.S. women's team, said the two teams grew closer during their respective journeys at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

"Our relationship with them, over the course of being in the Olympic Village, I think we are so tight with their group. After we won the gold medal, we were in the cafeteria at 3:30 a.m. in the morning with them. We go from there, pack our bags and we're on the bus," Hughes said via ESPN. "People are so negative about things. I think everyone in that locker room knows how much we support them, how proud we are of them. The same way we feel about them, they feel about us."

The U.S. women's ice hockey team declined Trump's invitation to the State of the Union address, a USA Hockey spokesperson said in a statement obtained by NBC News on Monday.

"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," the spokesperson said. "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," the spokesperson added.

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