The White House jumped at the chance to needle former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau after Team USA stunned Canada for Olympic gold.
In a dramatic finish at the Milan Cortina Winter Games on Sunday, the U.S. ended a 46-year drought of men's ice hockey gold, defeating Canada 2-1 in overtime on Jack Hughes' goal.
After the win, Team USA received a congratulatory phone call from President Donald Trump.
But it wasn't just the players celebrating.
The official White House X account used the moment to revisit a Trudeau post from last year, when Canada beat the U.S. in the 4 Nations Face-Off. Trudeau boasted on social media then, "You can't take our country — and you can't take our game."
On Sunday, the White House posted Trudeau's message and added its own visual jab: a photo of a bald eagle perched atop a Canadian goose.
Former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III piled on, too, posting Trudeau's old message alongside an image of himself with an American flag and writing, "We took your game."
Hughes took the game-winning shot after Zach Werenski delivered a cross-ice feed, electrifying the arena crowd in Milan and Americans back home as fans tuned into the game early Sunday.
In an interview after scoring the goal, Hughes said, "This is all about our country right now."
"I love the USA," he said. "I'm so proud to be American today."
"I love my country; I love my teammates," he added.
"That's American hockey right there," said Hughes.
"That's a great Canadian team, but this means so much. We are such a team."
FBI Director Kash Patel was in the stands in Milan for Team USA's win and joined the players in celebrating their victory after the game.
Patel is an amateur hockey player and ardent fan.
A video circulating on social media shows Patel drinking and spraying a bottle of beer before banging excitedly on a table and having a gold medal draped around his neck.
The FBI director later posted on X, seemingly in response to news reports about his locker room visit.
"For the very concerned media — yes, I love America and was extremely humbled when my friends, the newly minted Gold Medal winners on Team USA, invited me into the locker room to celebrate this historic moment with the boys — Greatest country on earth and greatest sport on earth," Patel wrote.
Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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