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The Hughes brothers emphasized the importance of unity in the face of division after footage of their team sharing a light-hearted moment with President Trump went viral.
MILAN, Metropolitan City of Milan — On Tuesday, brothers Jack and Quinn Hughes took to the media circuit following their recent triumph as gold medalists at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Jack, at 24, currently plays as a forward for the New Jersey Devils and secured the game-winning goal during overtime against Canadian goalie Jordan Binnington. His brother Quinn, 26, serves as a defenseman for the Minnesota Wild.
During appearances on “Today” and “Good Morning America,” the siblings primarily focused on celebrating the team’s victory. However, they also addressed the controversy sparked online by videos showing the team in high spirits with FBI Director Kash Patel and exchanging laughter over comments from President Donald Trump during a phone call.
In a light-hearted invitation to the men’s team for the State of the Union, Trump remarked on Sunday night, “We’ll have to invite the women’s team as well, you know.” He humorously added that failing to do so might lead to his impeachment.
“They’ve got busy schedules, too. Everyone is giving us backlash for all the social media stuff today,” Jack Hughes told the Daily Mail. “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.”
“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,” Hughes added.
The gold medal-winning women’s team declined Trump’s invite to also attend the State of the Union address, with U.S. hockey officials saying it was due to scheduling issues.
Both Jack and Quinn said they were nothing but close to the women’s team during the Olympics, saying support between the teams was mutual. They also confirmed they would be accepting Trump’s invitation to the State of the Union.
“If there was a camera on me and Quinn when the women’s team won, we look like the biggest super fans of all time,” Jack said during his appearance on TODAY.
The brothers’ mom, Ellen Hughes, also spoke about the backlash during an appearance on “TODAY.”
“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.”