Auston Matthews went all the way to the White House
Matthews and Team USA were invited by Donald Trump to celebrate their Olympic gold medal. Leafs fans aren’t happy about it
Hockey fans across social media are voicing their disapproval over the news that Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews opted to visit the White House with members of Team USA, which won the Olympic men’s hockey gold medal last weekend.
“If Matthews goes to the White House I’ll lose permanent respect for him,” said one commenter on Reddit, echoing a chorus of similar commentary.
US President Donald Trump called the team after their win and invited them to tonight’s State of the Union address.
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“I could send a military plane or something, if you would like—it’s the coolest night, it’s the biggest speech,” Trump told them, according to a recording of the phone call that multiple news outlets obtained. Players in the background responded, “We’re in.”
Matthews is American but has played for Toronto since 2016. Fans cited various reasons for being upset, including the recent partial release of the Epstein files, in which Trump is mentioned; Trump having been found liable for sexual abuse in 2023; ongoing ICE activity across the US; and the president’s continued “51st state” rhetoric and threats to annex Canada, as well as his tariffs on Canada.
On the congratulatory call, Trump joked about having to also invite the US women’s Olympic hockey team, which won a gold medal as well. “I must tell you, we’re going to have to bring the women’s team, you do know that,” he said. He quipped that if he didn’t, “I probably would be impeached.”
This afternoon, Matthews and most of the men’s team wore matching American flag sweaters and lined up to meet the president. The women’s team, as well as five members of the men’s team, declined the invitation.
Carly Lewis is a journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Times and the New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, Wired, Interview Magazine, Pitchfork, Elle, and Maclean’s, where she is a contributing editor. Her work has been recognized by the National Magazine Awards and the Digital Publishing Awards. She reports on city life, culture—including what people do online—politics, art and crime. She received the Dave Greber Freelance Writers Award for “The Murder of Ashley Wadsworth,” an investigative feature about a Canadian teenager who was killed by a man she met on social media, published by Maclean’s.
