The Olympic Games provide an opportunity for Americans of all political bents to come together to root for Team USA. But double standards, it seems, are too much to put aside.
At the 2026 Milano Cortina Games, both the American men’s and women’s Olympic hockey teams took home gold medals. In fact, both teams won against Canada in overtime with the final score being 2-1. Literally the exact same outcome. One of these wins got more attention than the other, which is probably to be expected given the history of sports and the USA-Canada rivalry being particularly intense for the men, but President Trump’s congratulatory phone call to the men’s team was a particularly grating reminder of how so many people lack basic respect for female athletes.
The call took place in the locker room just after the win, and was co-ordinated by FBI director and longtime hockey enthusiast Kash Patel (the FBI director partying with a hockey team on the taxpayer’s dime is a topic for another time). On the call, Trump congratulated the team and invited them to tomorrow night’s State of the Union speech, which the players may not be able to attend because we are currently in the middle of the NHL season.
Trump didn’t bother to call and congratulate the women, but perhaps this could be explained by Patel’s absence from their locker room (for which I’m sure Team USA is grateful). The real problem is that while on the call, Trump did mention inviting the women’s team, and it got a laugh. It sounds like someone cheered, someone else said “absolutely,” and you can hear a voice chanting “two for two!,” referencing the double wins. But listen for yourself and decide if the laughter is entirely good-natured or if the president is essentially making fun of the idea that he’d “probably be impeached” for not showing equal courtesy to both teams. (Unsurprisingly, the US women’s team declined an invitation to attend the State of the Union address.)
The players are drinking and celebrating and on the phone with the president. Their reactions don’t have to be diplomatic. What’s disappointing is that even during the Olympics the president couldn’t not make a little dig at female athletes, even after the athletes in question won.
And for what it’s worth, no, I don’t think there would be any impeachment, or even any significant backlash, if Trump had ignored the women’s team altogether. His party has already shown it will stand by him as he mocks and degrades women. Why should Olympic hockey players be any different?