Team USA won gold in the ice hockey (Image: Elsa, Getty Images)
The White House taunted their fierce rivals as Team USA claimed gold over Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics. It was an intense final at Milano Cortina on Sunday, with American supporters witnessing their nation capture their first gold medal in the competition since 1980’s miracle on ice.
Jack Hughes netted the winning goal just one minute into overtime, as his teammates and supporters in the stands of the Santa Giulia Arena burst in celebration. Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, the White House’s official X account joined in the festivities, mocking their neighbours in the process. Moments after their side emerged victorious, the account posted an image of a bald eagle driving its sharp talons into the head of a Canadian goose.
The post also referenced a previous message from former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, following last year’s 4 Nations: Face-Off tournament. That message, from February 2025, read: “You can’t take our country – and you can’t take our game,” celebrating Canada’s victory over USA in the NHL’s international competition.
Sunday’s triumph represented the first occasion that USA had defeated their neighbours in a gold medal match since the 1996 World Cup of Hockey. That competition saw Mike Richter in exceptional form to deny the likes of Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier.
Yet Sunday’s celebrations, in this modern era of social media, drew considerable backlash from Canadian supporters online. Responding to the White House’s post, one user wrote: “I had to triple check to verify this is actually a govt run account,” while another added: “As an American, I find this post by our white house to be absolutely abhorrent and disgusting. Delete it.”
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A third said: “This is such an embarrassing tweet for the White House to be making. Lol,” whilst a fourth wrote: “Mocking a country with a violent image is disgusting and beneath the White House. Respect matters, especially toward Canada.”
Meanwhile, other users were swift to highlight how Canada have historically enjoyed considerably more success in the sport than the USA. One post, which garnered 877 likes, featured a graphic demonstrating that Canada have claimed 37 gold medals across all medal-related competitions compared to the USA’s four.
Another user, meanwhile, emphasised how Canada have accumulated 24 Olympic medals in the discipline overall, with 14 of those being gold. The criticism will do precious little to dampen the spirits of a jubilant Team USA, however, who are likely fully concentrated on celebrating their triumph together.
Speaking following his match-winning goal, Hughes said: “I can’t even believe this. I mean it’s such an unbelievable game, USA-Canada. Such a good game. There’s so many great players. We’re a great team. That’s exactly how we wanted it to go. We’re underdogs to Canada, [but we] beat them. It could have gone either way.”
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump took to Truth Social to extend his congratulations to the team. He wrote: “Congratulations to our great U.S.A. Ice Hockey team. THEY WON THE GOLD. WOW! President DONALD J. TRUMP.”
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