President Donald Trump made a very important phone call on Sunday — a call to the locker room in Milan, Italy — to congratulate the United States men’s hockey team after they clinched their first gold medal in nearly half a century. Video circulated on X of the team receiving the president’s phone call in the locker room as they celebrated their overtime victory over rival Canada, and the players responded with cheers and laughter as he congratulated them on a job well done. You can hear the genuine pride in Donald Trumps voice when he called the Team USA Hockey Team pic.twitter.com/ch6GbXShwh — Harrison Krank (@HarrisonKrank) February 23, 2026 “By the way, your goalie played … not bad,” Trump could be heard saying of goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, and several of the players laughed and cheered. “I have seen hockey goalies have slightly worse games than you did. Unbelievable – and you were all unbelievable. And that team is pretty good you played, I don’t know if you have to play them again any time soon.” “I’ll tell you what, I just told my people two minutes ago, I didn’t know they’d be calling, I said we’re giving the State of the Union speech on Tuesday night,” Trump continued. “I could send a military plane or something, but if you would like to, it’s the coolest night, it’s the biggest speech —” Several of the players interrupted as Trump was talking to say, “We’re in!” “Can you pick us up in Miami on Tuesday morning?” one asked. Trump said that FBI Director Kash Patel — who could be seen in the video as well — would help get the necessary plans moving to get Team USA to the State of the Union. “The nice thing about being president, is I can tell you, you don’t have to worry about the weather or landing,” Trump added, prompting more laughter from the team. “We don’t care if it’s snowing, if it’s the worst blizzard, you’ll be sailing through that sucker just like you did on the ice.” “Thank you, Mr. President!” one shouted then. Trump went on to joke about an upcoming visit to the White House, saying that he would “have to” also invite the women’s team — who also defeated Canada in their gold-medal match days earlier — and getting more laughs from around the locker room when he predicted he’d be impeached if he didn’t. “Congratulations, that was an unbelievable game,” Trump said as they wrapped up the call. “I don’t know one person that wasn’t — everybody that called me said, ‘I’m watching the hockey game,’ I don’t know of anybody that wasn’t. You’re going to be proud of that game for fifty years as you grow older, I mean, it was amazing. Congratulations, we love you guys, and I hope to see you!” “I’m going to sake hands with everybody, but I gotta shake hands with that goalie,” Trump concluded, and the room exploded again with laughter and cheers. “We’ll see you Tuesday night, Mr. President,” one said. “I’m driving the bus, boss,” Patel quipped as the video came to an end. “He just spoke to the group expressing how proud he was of the group and congratulating everybody on the win. Obviously this game in a lot of ways was an inspiration to our country,” Coach Mike Sullivan said of the president’s call. “I can’t tell you how many texts I’ve received over the last day or so about watch parties at 8 in the morning. I think from a viewership standpoint in the United States, there were a lot of people paying attention, the president included.”

FBI Director Kash Patel praised the gold-medal winning U.S. hockey team — and mocked the “very concerned media” — in a social media post acknowledging that he had, in fact, rubbed elbows with the Olympic champions after their dramatic win over Canada. “For the very concerned media — yes, I love America and was extremely humbled when my friends, the newly minted Gold Medal winners on Team USA, invited me into the locker room to celebrate this historic moment with the boys,” Patel posted on X. “Greatest country on earth and greatest sport on earth.” For the very concerned media – yes, I love America and was extremely humbled when my friends, the newly minted Gold Medal winners on Team USA, invited me into the locker room to celebrate this historic moment with the boys- Greatest country on earth and greatest sport on earth.… — Kash Patel (@Kash_Patel) February 23, 2026 Patel shared another congratulatory post earlier on Sunday, including several photos of the team and of himself celebrating alongside them. “Unity, Sacrifice, Attitude,” he said. “What it takes to be the best in the world. These men live and breathe it. Now Team USA are gold medal champions, legends standing on the shoulders of giants. Thank you for representing the greatest country on earth, in the greatest game ever created. Congrats, boys.” Unity, Sacrifice, Attitude- what it takes to be the best in the world. These men live and breathe it. Now Team USA are gold medal champions, legends standing on the shoulders of giants. Thank you for representing the greatest country on earth, in the greatest game ever created.… pic.twitter.com/hBG987pxM2 — Kash Patel (@Kash_Patel) February 22, 2026 The game Patel attended was historic in itself, as the American team won in overtime against rival Canada — marking the first time a U.S. men’s hockey team has won Olympic gold in 46 years. In fact, the Americans haven’t taken the top of the podium since the game dubbed “the Miracle on Ice” — 1980’s Lake Placid win over the heavily-favored Soviet Union. Patel’s trip to Italy — which coincided with the final weekend of the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan and included a number of visits with various Italian officials — has been the subject of much media speculation. Some outlets criticized the FBI director over the timing of the trip, claiming that the real purpose was for him to attend the Olympic Games at taxpayer expense. Others were concerned about the number of active investigations in which the FBI was playing a role. Xochitl Hinojosa, a Democratic strategist, complained, “There was a threat at the president’s residence at MAL, Americans in Mexico are facing major threats by cartel members, Nancy Guthrie is still missing, and our FBI Director thinks he’s a frat bro?”

Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA) laughed off the prospect of a 2028 Democratic primary face-off between himself and former Vice President Kamala Harris, saying that if that were to come to fruition it would be because “it’s fate.” The California governor — who will soon be term-limited out and tops the list of potential Democratic presidential contenders — discussed the possibility with CNN anchor and “State of the Union” host Dana Bash, who asked how he might handle standing across the debate stage from the former vice president. WATCH: Gavin Newsom on possibly facing Kamala Harris in the 2028 presidential primary: “I’ve never gotten in the way of her ambition” pic.twitter.com/PDm8CmkR96 — State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) February 22, 2026 “Kamala Harris. You write about the fact that you’ve been friends with her for a very long time, you came up together,” Bash began, referencing Newsom’s recent memoir. “You talk about your parallel careers: she was prosecutor, California D.A., and Senator; you were San Francisco Mayor, Lieutenant Governor, and Governor.” “What happens if and when those parallel careers intersect and collide?” she asked, and Newsom began to laugh long before she was able to finish the question. “Well, I’m San Francisco and she’s L.A., so we’re a little bit — there’s a little distance between the two of us,” Newsom protested, but Bash pointed out the fact that she was talking about national politics. “2028. The whole country,” she said. “That’s — you know, fate will determine that,” Newsom shrugged. “And I’ve never gotten in the way of her ambition, ever. I haven’t. And I don’t imagine I would in the future. But I don’t —” “But if you run against each other for president —” Bash tried again. “That’s fate,” Newsom said again, dismissing the question entirely. “You only can control what you can control. I think this entire book is that fundamental lesson. And this notion of controlling what you control, and taking responsibility for what you control, is a big part of what I try to communicate in this book. That’s the third thing, it’s like how this book will be received. It’s the third thing, I can’t control it. I can’t control whatever decisions she makes.”

President Donald Trump on Saturday called for Netflix to fire former national security adviser Susan Rice from its board. “Netflix should fire racist, Trump Deranged Susan Rice, IMMEDIATELY, or pay the consequences. She’s got no talent or skills — Purely a political hack! HER POWER IS GONE, AND WILL NEVER BE BACK. How much is she being paid, and for what???” Trump posted on Truth Social. Trump’s post followed Rice’s appearance on a podcast hosted by former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara. During the interview, Rice, a longtime Democrat operative, issued a warning to “elites” that “take a knee to Trump.” Rice said that when Democrats are back in power, companies, universities, and others who did not fight Trump would face Justice Department probes for potential illegality. “When it comes to the elites, you know, the corporate interests, the law firms, the universities, the media, I agree with you, Preet. It is not going to end well for them, for those that decided that they would act in their perceived, very narrow self-interest – which I would underscore is very short-term self-interest – and, you know, take a knee to Trump,” said Rice. “They are going to be caught with more than their pants down. They’re going to be held accountable by those who come in opposition to Trump and win at the ballot box,” she said. Rice insisted that the retribution from Democrats on the entities that worked with Trump would come through legal means and be based on the unlawful conduct of those targeted. But she said Democrats would ditch the “old rules.” “If these corporations think that the Democrats, when they come back in power, are going to, you know, play by the old rules and, you know, and say, ‘oh, never mind, we’ll forgive you for all the people you’ve fired, all the policies and principles you’ve violated, all the laws you’ve skirted’ – I think they’ve got another thing coming,” said Rice. “Whether you’re a law firm, whether you’re a university, whether you’re a media entity, whether you’re a big corporation, whether you’re big tech … there will be an accountability agenda,” she continued. “They better be ready for subpoenas. If they’ve done something wrong, they’ll be held accountable. And if they haven’t broken the law, good for them. … That, also, will be noted and remembered.” Trump’s push to oust Rice comes as Netflix attempts to navigate a major business deal by acquiring Warner’s movie and television studios and HBO Max. Netflix has offered to pay $72 billion for the acquisition. The Department of Justice has already launched a probe into whether the deal could violate antitrust laws.

Americans are being asked by the State Department to remain sheltered in place in parts of Mexico due to civil unrest following the successful killing of Jalisco New Generation Cartel leader Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes on Sunday. Cervantes was killed by the Mexican army with “complementary information” provided by the United States, The Daily Wire reported. The State Department’s travel alert specifically notes that Americans in the Mexican states of Jalisco, Baja California, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Michoacan, Oaxaca, Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas and Quintana Roo State “should shelter in place until further notice.” The states contain major tourism hubs such as Puerto Vallarta, Guadalajara, Cancun, as well as Playa del Carmen and Tulum, among other major cities. “Due to ongoing, widespread security operations and related road blockages and criminal activity in many areas of Mexico, U.S. citizens should shelter in place until further notice,” the U.S. Department of State Consular Affairs posted to X on Sunday afternoon. “Roadblocks have impacted airline operations, with some domestic & int’l flights canceled in both Guadalajara & Puerto Vallarta. Taxis/ride shares are suspended in Puerto Vallarta. Seek shelter and remain in residences or hotels,” the post added. Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs, Mora Namdar, posted that “the Trump Administration has no higher priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens” and to “keep family and friends advised of your location and well-being.” She is encouraging Americans in Mexico to join the Smart Traveler Enrollment program, monitor the department’s social media and to contact the phone numbers listed on the security alert if needed. The security alert also recommends that Americans stay away from crowds and “areas around law enforcement activity,” check local news, and “be aware” of their environment. The alert also noted that employees at the American consulate in Tijuana are having to shelter in place, and those who work at the consulate in Monterrey are being asked to stay in the region. The Daily Wire reported that cartel members throughout the country were setting fire to buses and even blocking roads. Southwest Airlines issued a travel alert for Puerto Vallarta, and American and United Airlines issued alerts for Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta. Some airlines are offering options for rebooking if someone’s flight is affected by the situation. In 2024, an estimated 870,000 American “residents” traveled to Puerto Vallarta and a million visiting Guadalajara, as Mexico was considered the “largest outbound market” for Americans leaving the U.S., according to the International Trade Administration.