Hilary Knight says Trump's 'distasteful' quip is a 'wonderful teaching point' for conversations about women

United States women's hockey skipper Hilary Knight was erstwhile again outspoken against President Donald Trump's quip regarding her team.

While connected the telephone with the men's squad aft they had won gold, Trump said helium would "have" to invitation the women’s team, which besides bushed Canada to triumph the Olympics, to past week's State of the Union address, otherwise, helium "probably would beryllium impeached."

In a caller quality connected Ilona Maher's podcast, Knight reiterated her erstwhile sentiment that Trump made a "distasteful joke" but again gave the men the payment of the uncertainty astir being successful a "tough environment."

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Hilary Knight poses for a photograph during the U.S. Olympic Team Media Summit successful mentation for the 2026 Milan Olympic Winter Games astatine Javits Center connected Oct. 29, 2025. (Robert Deutsch/Imagn Images)

However, Knight said that the telephone telephone and the absorption are "a fantastic teaching point."

"What we accomplished isn't laughable. It is simply a precise analyzable contented regarding what goes connected down closed doors and however women are represented successful antithetic conversations, but astatine the extremity of the day, nary of that should beryllium enactment connected america to explicate someone's behavior," Knight said. "What should beryllium happening is celebrating each of the women and their astonishing feats — specifically our squad and the men's squad arsenic good — and however the women carried themselves astatine the Olympics, which was epic.

"While the concern was distasteful, getting backmost into our antithetic communities and seeing the overwhelming enactment connected societal media has been outstanding. We are being celebrated successful the mode that we request to be. I americium excited and looking guardant to continuing those conversations and utilizing this arsenic a learning constituent for however we speech astir women, not lone successful athletics but successful different industries. It should ne'er beryllium little than. It should ever beryllium astir championing women and supporting 1 another. Throughout the tournament, I deliberation some teams did an unthinkable occupation of having genuine enactment and establishing friendships together. This is simply a learning point, and we are going to proceed to determination forward, but I'm excited to observe each of our occurrence arsenic badass women connected the satellite signifier doing our thing."

Hilary Knight of Team United States looks connected successful the 2nd play during the Women's Playoffs Semifinal lucifer betwixt the United States and Sweden connected Day 10 of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games astatine Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena connected Feb. 16, 2026 successful Milan, Italy. (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

Jeremy Swayman, the men's team's backup goaltender, admitted the squad "should person reacted differently" to Trump's comments. But helium and Jack and Quinn Hughes each spoke highly of the women's squad and their relationships with them.

"We cognize that we are truthful excited for the women’s team. We person truthful overmuch respect for the women’s team. To stock that golden medal with them is thing we’re everlastingly grateful for," Swayman said.

Jack Hughes told reporters aft the crippled that the archetypal happening helium thought astir erstwhile the puck went successful was Megan Keller, who scored the aureate extremity for the United States women's squad against Canada 3 days earlier.

The brothers’ mother, Ellen, a erstwhile Team USA subordinate and existent subordinate improvement unit member, said the players lone cared astir "bring[ing] truthful overmuch unity to a radical and to a country."

United States' Kendall Coyne, left, and United States' Hilary Knight observe aft the triumph ceremonial for women’s crystal hockey astatine the 2026 Winter Olympics successful Milan, Italy, connected Feb. 19, 2026. (Hassan Ammar/AP Photo)

Knight and Megan Keller, who scored the women's aureate goal, joined the Hughes brothers connected this past weekend's "Saturday Night Live."

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