A member of the gold medal-winning U.S. men’s hockey team admitted Wednesday that he regretted laughing at President Donald Trump’s joke aimed at the women’s team in the aftermath of its victory over Canada.
Asked about the “negative reaction” while speaking to reporters in Boston, goaltender Jeremy Swayman said: “We should have reacted differently. We know that.”
“We are so excited for the women’s team,” the Boston Bruins player added, according to MassLive. “We have so much respect for the women’s team and sharing that gold medal with them is something we are forever grateful for.”
During a call on Sunday night to the newly crowned Olympic champions, Trump joked about inviting the women’s team to the nation’s capital along with the men’s team since they also won gold.
The president said, “I have to tell you that we have to bring the women’s team, you know that.”
Trump added that he would likely be “impeached” if he didn’t.
His comments sparked laughter in the locker room.
Jack Hughes, a star player on the U.S. men’s national team, was asked Wednesday about Swayman’s reflection on Trump’s joke.
“You are in the moment,” said the New Jersey Devils player, who scored the winning goal for the US in extra time. “We blare the music. They pause the music and then the president shouts. It is what it is now, but we have so much respect for the women’s team, they have so much respect for us. We’re all just proud Americans and we’re happy that we both won the Olympics.”
Five members of the men’s team declined Trump’s invitation to his State of the Union address on Tuesday.
The women’s team turned down the president’s offer to attend the big speech, but Trump said during his State of the Union address that they would be heading to DC “soon.”
Hilary Knight, the captain of the U.S. women’s national team, called the president’s joke “distasteful” but insisted their victory was a “great learning point and really sheds light on how women should be championed for their amazing achievements.”
