President Donald Trump has his eyes on everyone else’s prizes.
The president, 79, hosted the United States men’s hockey team in the Oval Office on Tuesday after their historic win at the 2026 Winter Olympics on Sunday. But footage from the meeting suggests his attention was captivated less by Team USA’s triumph than by the players’ bling.
Trump appeared so fixated on the team’s gold medals that one player, Matthew Tkachuk, offered the president his own.
“Yeah, I’ll put it on,” Trump replied. “And I’m not giving it back.” Tkachuk, who described a congratulatory call from Trump after winning the gold as an “honor,” then handed the smiling president his medal.
“Wow, that’s cool,” Trump said as he turned the medal over in his hands. “I never thought I’d ever have this,” he added amid scattered laughter.
Trump’s penchant for medals—especially gold ones—is well documented. Last month, he gleefully accepted the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, despite the Norwegian Nobel Institute having previously, and repeatedly, clarified that transferring the prize was impossible.
Before that, in August, Trump was gifted a complete set of official Olympic medals by Casey Wasserman—the embattled chairman of the LA28 organizing committee who has faced scrutiny over his past association with Jeffrey Epstein.
“Can I say I won them athletically? That would be an honor,” Trump asked at the time, moments before launching into a multi-post celebration on Truth Social, showing off his latest hardware.
The president stirred controversy during his congratulatory call with the men’s hockey team, who captured gold for the first time since 1980 with a 2–1 victory over Canada. The women’s team also defeated Canada by the same score.
“I must tell you, we’re going to have to bring the women’s team, you do know that,” Trump said during his call with the men’s team. If he did not invite them, “I do believe I probably would be impeached,” he added.
The women’s team has since declined the president’s offer.
“We are sincerely grateful for the invitation extended to our gold medal-winning U.S. Women’s Hockey Team and deeply appreciate the recognition of their extraordinary achievement,” a spokesperson for USA Hockey said.
“Due to the timing and previously scheduled academic and professional commitments following the Games, the athletes are unable to participate,” they went on, adding they were “honored to be included and are grateful for the acknowledgement.”
Hockey-mad FBI Director Kash Patel, 45, called Trump while celebrating with Team USA in their locker room, spluttering, “I got it, boss, I got it!” when Trump suggested that the squad should come to watch his State of the Union address. Patel was also captured swearing and boozing with the team on video.
The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for comment.
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