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WATCH: Trump introduces Olympic gold medal-winning U.S. men's hockey team

Politics Feb 24, 2026 10:12 PM EDT

President Donald Trump welcomed the U.S. men's Olympic hockey team, fresh off its gold medal victory over Canada, during his State of the Union address Tuesday.

Watch the full clip in our video player above.

"Our country is winning again. In fact, we're winning so much that we really don't know what to do about it," Trump said.

"You're going to win bigger than ever and to prove that point, here with us tonight is a group of winners who just made the entire nation proud: the men's gold-medal Olympic hockey team," he added, as the team entered the gallery to applause and cheers of "USA!"

The U.S. women's hockey team, which also won gold, declined to attend the State of the Union "due to timing" and previously scheduled commitments, a spokesperson said.

Trump also announced he would be awarding the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, to the team's goalie, Connor Hellebuyck.

Trump's address comes after 13 months of break-neck deregulation, a record number of executive actions, mass layoffs, aggressive immigration tactics and more.

Ahead of the speech, Trump was expected to outline his administration's accomplishments, make his case for keeping his party in power this November and celebrate the 250th anniversary of America's independence.

At the same time, a number of pain points have threatened to overshadow Trump's positive messages during his primetime speech.

On Friday, the Supreme Court delivered a major setback to Trump's agenda when it struck down his sweeping tariffs. A partial government shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security, brought on by Democratic opposition to Trump's aggressive immigration enforcement, seems to have no end in sight. And questions about the Jeffrey Epstein investigation continue to dog his administration.

According to the latest PBS News/NPR/ Marist poll, 60% of Americans say the country is worse off compared to a year ago, while 40% believe the country is in better shape.

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