The brothers uplifted unity over division after videos showing the team laughing with President Trump over the phone went viral.
MILAN, Metropolitan City of Milan — Brothers Jack and Quinn Hughes made the media rounds on Tuesday, just days after becoming gold medal winners at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Jack, 24, is a forward for the New Jersey Devils and scored the game’s winning goal in overtime past Canadian goalie Jordan Binnington. Quinn, 26, is a defenseman for the Minnesota Wild.
The pair mostly celebrated the team’s win during their appearances on both “Today” and “Good Morning America,” but also spoke about the recent backlash the team received online. Videos from inside the team’s locker room after the gold medal game showed players celebrating with FBI Director Kash Patel and laughing at comments made by President Donald Trump during a phone call.
When extending a State of the Union invitation to the men’s team on Sunday night, Trump said, “I must tell you, we’re going to have to bring the women’s team, you do know that.” Trump said that if he did not also invite the women’s team, “I do believe I probably would be impeached.”
“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.”