US ice hockey star Hilary Knight aimed a barb at Donald Trump during an appearance on this weekend’s Saturday Night Live.
Knight led the US women to gold at last month’s Olympics, scoring the Americans’ first goal as they beat Canada in overtime. But after the US men’s team won gold Trump joked that he would have to invite the women’s team to the White House too or risk being impeached. Many of the men’s players laughed at Trump’s comments, and Knight later called them “distasteful and unfortunate.” While the US men visited the White House last week, Knight and her teammates said they were too busy to attend and will instead celebrate at an event in July organized by rapper Flavor Flav.
Knight appeared alongside teammate Megan Keller, who scored the US’s winner in overtime, and Jack and Quinn Hughes of the men’s team on this weekend’s edition of SNL, which was hosted by Heated Rivalry star Connor Storrie.
All four players wore their Olympic golds and Knight referred to Trump’s joke, saying: “It was going to be just us, but we thought we’d invite the guys too.” Keller added: “We thought we’d give them a little moment to shine”.
Many of the men’s team have since expressed regret about laughing at Trump’s comments, with the Boston Bruins’ Charlie McAvoy saying he is “certainly sorry for how we responded to it in that moment.”
On SNL, Knight got to have the last laugh. When Quinn Hughes said the US men’s gold medal was their first since 1980, Knight replied: “The last time we did that was two whole Olympics ago”. Jack Hughes smiled and said “Nice burn”.
Knight’s gold came in her final Olympics. After the team’s win, Keller paid tribute to Knight’s leadership.
“She’s the leader of our group, the heartbeat,” Keller said of her captain. “We don’t get here without her. I can’t say enough great things about her, and to cap off her Olympic career in this fashion, [I’m] just so happy for her.”
