U.S. Olympic hockey gold medalists Quinn and Jack Hughes addressed the “social media” buzz surrounding the now-viral phone call between the men’s team and President Donald Trump after their 2-1 overtime victory over Canada in Sunday’s gold medal game at the Milan Cortina Games.
In a social media video of the call, Trump and the men’s team are seen laughing after the president invited them to be his guests at Tuesday night’s State of the Union address, and also joked that he had to invite the the U.S. women’s hockey team after they won gold in Milan, or else “I believe I probably would be impeached.”
During an appearance Tuesday on “Good Morning America,” co-host George Stephanopoulos asked the brothers if they plan to attend Trump’s State of the Union address, taking place at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., and mentioned the women’s team declined Trump’s invitation due to previous scheduling conflicts.
“I don’t know how much I’m allowed to say, but yes,” said Quinn, a defenseman for the Minnesota Wild.
“We’re excited to go. It’s not something you get to do every Tuesday. It’s going to be special for us.
“But I’m glad you mentioned the women’s team again, we’re extremely happy for them. Obviously, there’s a lot going on with social media right now surrounding our team and their team.
“But in the last couple of summers, we did a lot of training with them and got to know a lot of those girls really well.”
Before that, Jack discussed how “there’s been so much headlines about us and the women’s hockey team and the video, but we hung out — we were in the cafeteria with them until three in the morning” — seemingly referring to the women’s hockey team.
Jack continued his remark, but the sound was cut off.
The “GMA” hosts were heard laughing as Stephanopoulos joked that the New Jersey Devils star, whose voice was hoarse, needed more hot water for his throat.
Jack said something as he shook his head while Quinn took a drink of water.
The U.S. Olympic men’s hockey team flew to Miami due to the massive blizzard that covered the East Coast.
Jack and Quinn partied with the men’s team at E11EVEN, a popular nightclub in Miami, before their appearance on “GMA.”
The club went through over $150,000 in champagne during the celebration, according to ESPN.
While in Miami, Jack told reporters that the team is excited to visit the White House, regardless of political views.
“Yeah, we’re excited. Everything is so political. We’re athletes,” he said in a video by the Daily Mail. “We’re so proud to represent the U.S.
“When you get the chance to go to White House and meet the President, we’re proud to be Americans and that’s so patriotic. No matter what your views are, we’re super excited to go to the White House tomorrow and be a part of that.”
Of the U.S. women’s hockey team, Jack told ESPN, “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. 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 brothers’ mom, Ellen Hughes, who serves as a player development consultant for Team USA women’s ice hockey, weighed in on the viral video during a Tuesday appearance on the “Today” show.
“At the end of the day, it’s just about the country…and the moment that he players these players, both the men and women, can bring so much unity to a group and to a country,” she said. “People that cheered on that don’t watch hockey, people that have politics on one side or on the other side, and that’s all both the men’s team and the women’s team care about.
“If you could see what we see from the inside, and the men and women sharing dorm rooms and halls and flex floors and the camaraderie and the synergy and the way the women cheered on the men and the way the men cheered on the women — that’s what it’s all about.
“And the other things they cannot control. They care about humanity they care about unity and they care about the country.”
Jack scored the game-winning goal in overtime, breaking a 46-year gold medal drought for the U.S. in men’s hockey.
