President and U.S. mens hockey gold medalist Matthew Tkachuk had a lighthearted interaction in the Oval Office on Tuesday ahead of the State of the Union address.
Tkachuk was with several members of the team, taking pictures and showing off their medals after defeating Canada in overtime on the final day of the . The Florida Panthers star asked the president if he wanted to wear the medal.
“Yeah, absolutely. Im not giving it back,” Trump joked.
Tkachuk replied, “Ill trade you that for a pen.”
Trump said it was “cool” to have the medal around him, adding “I never thought Id have this on me.”
Dylan Larkin and Jack Hughes then posed for a photo .
The group of players who were at the White House to meet with the president are set to attend the later Tuesday night. Trump invited the team to the event as they celebrated their gold medal win in Milan.
The players excitement appeared to miff critics of Trump. But while talking to reporters outside the E11EVEN nightclub in Miami on Monday night, Hughes said meeting the president is a once-in-a-lifetime chance.
“Everything is so political. Were athletes. Were so proud to represent the U.S. and when you get the chance to go to the White House, meet the president, you know, were proud to be Americans, thats so patriotic. No matter what your views are, were super excited to go to the White House and just be part of that,” he said.
Follow Fox News Digitals sports coverage on X and subscribe to.
