Olympian Quinn Hughes addressed receiving an invitation from President Donald Trump to attend the State of the Union and supporting the women's hockey team following several days of backlash.
"I don't know how much we're allowed to say, but yes. Yeah, we're excited to go. It's something you don't get to do ... every Tuesday," Hughes told Good Morning Americaabout accepting the invite. "It's going to be special for us."
Hughes revelation comes on the heels of President Trump calling the men's U.S. hockey team to congratulate the players on their gold medal win over Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy. During the locker room call, President Trump invited the players to the State of the Union address and said they could tour the White House. He offered to transport the team on a military plane.
The President also mentioned the U.S. women's hockey team, which won gold during the Olympics. "I must tell you, we're going to have to bring the woman's team. You do know that?" President Trump said. The President's comment elicited immediate laughter. "I do believe I probably would be impeached," the President added moments later.
The now viral video generated varying reactions and backlash, including the women's team declining the invitation and rapper Flavor Flav extending an invite to the women's team for an alternative celebration. Hughes seemed to address the chatter during his Good Morning America appearance.
"I'm glad you mentioned the women's team again. You know, we're really happy for them," Hughes said. "Obviously, a lot going on social media right now surrounding our team and their team, but in the last couple of summers, we've done a lot of training with them and got to know a lot of those girls really well."
Hughes wasn't the only U.S. men's hockey player to comment on the reactions to the President's call. His brother, Jack, who also plays for Team USA, shared his thoughts.
"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. "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, and we know the same way we feel about them, they feel about us."
The Hughes brothers' mother, Ellen, a consultant for the U.S. women's hockey team, added her thoughts to the conversation. "These players, both the men and women, can bring so much unity to a group and to a country,” Ellen Hughes 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."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Team USA's Quinn Hughes on attending State of the Union, women's team