The White House seized on Team USA’s dramatic Olympic hockey victory over Canada to take a swipe at former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, reviving a past social media post after the Americans captured gold.
In a thrilling overtime finish at the Milan Cortina Winter Games on Sunday, the United States defeated Canada 2-1 to claim its first men’s Olympic hockey gold medal in 46 years. The winning goal came off the stick of Jack Hughes, who sealed the victory in overtime and ended the decades-long championship drought.
Following the triumph, President Donald Trump placed a congratulatory call to the team to mark the achievement.
The celebration extended beyond the ice. The official White House X account resurfaced a message Trudeau had posted last year after Canada defeated the United States in the 4 Nations Face-Off. At the time, Trudeau had written, “You can’t take our country — and you can’t take our game.”
On Sunday, the White House reposted that statement and paired it with an image of a bald eagle standing atop a Canadian goose, signaling a pointed response to the earlier remark.
Former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III also weighed in, sharing Trudeau’s previous message alongside a photo of himself holding an American flag and adding the caption, “We took your game.”
Hughes scored the decisive goal after receiving a cross-ice pass from Zach Werenski, sending the crowd in Milan into a frenzy and thrilling viewers across the United States who tuned in early Sunday morning.
Speaking after netting the game-winner, Hughes expressed pride in representing the country. “This is all about our country right now.”
“I love the USA,” he said. “I’m so proud to be American today.”
“I love my country; I love my teammates,” he added.
“That’s American hockey right there,” said Hughes.
“That’s a great Canadian team, but this means so much. We are such a team.”
Among those in attendance was FBI Director Kash Patel, who watched the game from the stands in Milan and later joined the team in its postgame celebration. Patel, an avid hockey enthusiast and amateur player himself, took part in the locker room festivities.
Video circulating online shows Patel celebrating with the players, drinking and spraying beer before pounding on a table and having a gold medal placed around his neck.
Patel later addressed media attention over his presence in the locker room, posting on X: “For the very concerned media — yes, I love America and was extremely humbled when my friends, the newly minted Gold Medal winners on Team USA, invited me into the locker room to celebrate this historic moment with the boys — Greatest country on earth and greatest sport on earth,” Patel wrote.
{Matzav.com}