Jack, Quinn Hughes's Mom Responds to Controversy Around Trump's Women's Hockey Team Joke

Ellen Hughes, the mother of Team USA gold medalists Jack Hughes and Quinn Hughes, has responded to the controversy around a now-viral video of the men's hockey team laughing on the phone with President Trump after their win vs. Canada.

In the clip, President Trump invites the men's team to attend his State of the Union address on Tuesday. He then continues:

“I must tell you, we’re going to have to bring the women’s team, you do know that,” the president says, to raucous laughter from the team. If he didn't, "I do believe I'd probably be impeached."

The comment, as well as the team's seemingly supportive laughter, has since been interpreted by fans as a backhanded knock against the accomplished women's team, which also won gold in a thrilling OT game vs. Canada.

On Tuesday, Ellen Hughes—who is also a player development consultant for Team USA women’s hockey—weighed in on the backlash.

"These players, both the men and women, can bring so much unity to a group and to a country,” she told TODAY, adding that "at the end of the day, it's just about the country."

"People that cheered on that don’t watch hockey, people that have politics on one side or on the other side, and that’s all both the men’s team and the women’s team care about."

Mrs. Hughes said there was a "synergy" between the men's and women's teams.

“If you could see what we see from the inside, and the men and women sharing, you know, dorm rooms and halls and flex floors and the camaraderie and the synergy and the way the women cheered on the men and the way the men cheered on the women—that’s what it’s all about," she said. "And the other things they cannot control. They care about humanity. They care about unity and they care about the country.”

Both Quinn and Jack, the latter of whom scored the game-winner vs. the Canadians, also appeared on TODAY on Tuesday.

"I'm glad you brought up the women because it was amazing to spend some time with them, too," Quinn Hughes said, per TODAY. "And then obviously watch them, me and Jack were there, we watched them win the gold medal."

"They came to our game and were able to watch us," he went on. "So just the support back and forth, just to get to know them a little better was special, too."

On Monday, the women's team confirmed that they received an invitation to the president's State of the Union. The group declined, however, citing "the timing and previously scheduled academic and professional commitments."

The men's team will attend, per Hughes.

“I don't know how much we're allowed to say, but yes. Yeah, we're excited to go,” Hughes told TODAY. “It’s something you don't get to do—I don't know what today is—every Tuesday. But yeah, it's going to be special for us, but I'm glad you mentioned the women's team again. You know, we're extremely happy for them. Obviously, a lot going on on social media right now surrounding our team and their team. But, you know, in the last couple summers, we did a lot of training with them and got to know a lot of those girls really well."

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