Axios reports: Trump awards Medal of Freedom to Team USA goalie.
President Trump during the State of the Union on Tuesday revealed he is awarding Connor Hellebuyck, the Team USA goalie who helped the men’s Olympic hockey team win gold at the 2026 games, with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Why it matters: The award is considered the U.S. government’s highest civilian honor and is usually presented to recognize a lifetime of significant achievements in the arts, public service, science, or other fields, per the Library of Congress.
On the one hand, good for Hellebuyck, I guess. However, I would note that he already got an award for winning the game, it’s called an Olympic Gold Medal. Perhaps you’ve heard of it?
So, on the one hand, not the biggest abuse of power one could conjure, but on the other, I would argue that this is exactly the kind of thing a dictatorial mind does. I mean, he literally dictated the action from a podium at an official event to leverage patriotism to get applause. Trump loves unilateral displays of the power of the presidency, and he loves spectacle. He doesn’t care about past tradition or the weight given to these kinds of decisions; he just likes handing out (and receiving) awards.
This is also Trump using his personal power to politicize what should be a shared national point of pride.
I am guessing that the women’s goalie, Aerin Frankel, will not be similarly honored, despite also winning gold in Milan. That just adds a nice layer of Trumpian misogyny to the whole affair. Even if they decide to give it to Frankel, too, it will be because they feel politically cornered, not because they value the women’s victory the same as the men’s.
This was already the case when Trump called the men’s locker room after their win (as reported by ABC News). Emphasis mine.
On a postgame call with Trump inviting the team to the State of the Union address in Washington, D.C., the team appeared to laugh along as the president said he would “have to” invite the Olympic gold medal winning woman’s team as well.
I do miss the days when these kinds of things could be celebrated simply as points of national pride, rather than being made crassly partisan.
Again, this is not the most important news of the day, but I think it is a simple and easy-to-understand example of how Trump’s approach to his office erodes national unity. His instincts sow division, and they never range towards the unifying.
I think that this NBC News headline is accurate: Trump ignites culture war around U.S. hockey gold medal winners.
Trump then joked that if he did not invite the women’s team — which also beat Team Canada in overtime to win the gold days before — “I do believe I probably would be impeached.”
The men roared in laughter.
That moment captured on video has spurred outrage online, prompting a cascade of negativity toward the men’s team, members of which appeared quick to diss their female teammates to agree with Trump. (One player could be heard in the video saying “absolutely” when Trump said he had to invite the women, while another shouted “two-for-two,” acknowledging the men’s and women’s gold medal victories).
The episode has devolved into a heated back-and-forth online between fans who are disavowing the men for laughing at Trump’s remark and others who feel there is a rush to judgment amid a brief moment of unity for the country. Meanwhile, conservatives have lauded the players for making unabashedly patriotic statements after the win, talking up how proud they are to be American.
Speaking of Trump coveting awards, Trump actually said this during the speech.
I’ve always wanted the Congressional Medal of Honor, but I was informed, I’m not allowed to give it to myself and I wouldn’t know why I’d be taking it. But if they ever open up that law, I will be there with you someday. But, you know, that’s our highest honor, Congressional Medal of Honor.
You can find the text and clip at the 01:42:26 – 01:43:20 mark here.
This echoes the following from a few days ago.
The narcissism is just off the charts.
Update: This commentary from Jerry Brewer at The Athletic does a great job of identifying what the problem is here: The U.S. men’s Olympic hockey team won gold — and then lost the room.
In the immediate aftermath of their victory, the team took a customary, congratulatory call from President Donald Trump, and some players laughed at a misogynistic joke about the gold-winning women’s hockey team that many Americans wouldn’t find funny. They celebrated in the locker room with beer-chugging FBI Director Kash Patel, who is now under scrutiny for using taxpayer money to fund a sports getaway. Then, after a wild night of partying in Miami following their return from Italy, some members of the team announced plans to step in the House Chamber – a stage upon which symbolism is never neutral – and make an appearance at Trump’s State of the Union.
In normal times, this would be an obligatory celebration for a championship team. They take presidential calls. They party too hard. They visit Washington and stroll through the corridors of power.
But this isn’t a neutral climate. This isn’t a neutral president. And in a nation this polarized, the proximity carries weight whether the players are being intentional or merely naive. America no longer experiences these rituals in the same way, and it may never again. Athletes would be wise to recognize that, in this climate, celebration is easily repurposed into political capital.
Aldo:
Trump, perhaps more than most modern presidents, understands the optics of standing next to winners. It normalizes him. It softens his cruel instincts and crude jokes, recasting them as locker-room banter. It washes his reputation and reduces the impact of polls that indicate a significant majority of Americans disapprove of his second term.
Read the whole thing.
