While most of America was delighting in the USA men’s hockey team’s triumphant return after their thrilling 2-1 gold-medal-winning overtime victory over the Canadians, the Huffington Post and its readers were having a sad.
The HuffPo began by talking about the historic nature of Team USA’s win, the first Olympic gold medal in men’s hockey since 1980. However, the HuffPo laments that the “hero’s welcome” the team should have received was ruined by their phone call with President Trump after their win.
“Considering that this is the first time in 46 years the men’s team has won gold at the global sporting event, one would assume they’d receive a hero’s welcome,” the article states. “But, thanks to a gross exchange the team had with President Donald Trump after their big win, they got more of a zero’s welcome.”
The article then details the sporadic praise and shouts of “USA!” the team received from onlookers upon arriving at Miami’s airport. First, it’s odd that the HuffPo describes the reception as “lukewarm,” given that no welcoming party was planned for them in Miami. So, why would anyone expect something different on a Monday morning at Miami International?
Secondly, the article completely omits mention of the water cannon salute the team’s plane received on the tarmac (a welcoming gesture literally reserved for heroes) and of the large number of people who were there to greet the team. Okay, maybe they weren’t screaming at the top of their lungs, but there was definitely a solid contingent on hand to take pictures and welcome the team. Especially for a town like Miami, which is not a bad hockey town, but not Detroit or Philadelphia either.
But then, even more bizarrely, the article takes the ludicrous leap of attributing what it perceives to be the “underwhelming reception” to Trump’s phone call with the team after Sunday’s game.
“The congratulatory phone call the president made to the team was caught on video and has sparked outrage,” the HuffPo wrote. “In it, FBI Director Kash Patel — who is facing backlash of his own for slamming beers with the men’s hockey team on a reportedly taxpayer-funded trip to Italy — holds a phone as Trump talks to the team on speaker. After Trump invited the men to the White House to celebrate their win and even offered the team a military aircraft to fly them out to his State of the Union address on Tuesday, the president added:
“And we have to — I must tell you — we’re going to have to bring the women’s team,” Trump said before snickering, which prompted the men’s hockey team to erupt with laughter.”
The article continued, “The U.S. women’s hockey team also won gold at the Winter Olympics, but after the video of Trump’s degrading call went viral on social media, they have decided to decline the president’s White House offer.”
The piece then breathlessly anticipates the women’s team attending the Vegas party offered by rapper Flava Flav.
“Instead, the women may go to a much better celebration. Rapper Flavor Flav offered to host them in Las Vegas in response to Trump’s call. After the hip-hop star made the offer on X, brands began to offer the women’s team accommodations, flights, and other comped services in the comment section of his tweet.
Of course, as we know, after the president’s State of the Union (SOTU) address on Tuesday night, the USA women’s hockey team did not find the president’s joke nearly as degrading as the HuffPo did because they are indeed going to visit the White House after all.
Womp. Womp.
