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President Donald Trump and U.S. men’s 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 Winter Olympics. The Florida Panthers star asked the president if he wanted to wear the medal.
“Yeah, absolutely. I’m not giving it back,” Trump joked.
Tkachuk replied, “I’ll trade you that for a pen.”
Trump said it was “cool” to have the medal around him, adding “I never thought I’d have this on me.”
Dylan Larkin and Jack Hughes then posed for a photo behind Trump at his desk.
The group of players who were at the White House to meet with the president are set to attend the State of the Union speech 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.
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“Everything is so political. We’re athletes. We’re so proud to represent the U.S. and when you get the chance to go to the White House, meet the president, you know, we’re proud to be Americans, that’s so patriotic. No matter what your views are, we’re super excited to go to the White House and just be part of that,” he said.
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