admin
The U.S. men’s hockey team gave America something to cheer about with a historic gold, and watching them savor the moment should have united us all. Instead, left-wing commentators chose to turn celebration into political theater, with Megan Rapinoe calling the players “clowns” for taking a congratulatory call from the president.
President Trump phoned the team after their triumph and joked about also inviting the women’s champions to the State of the Union, a harmless quip that was seized upon by critics as something more sinister. The players’ laughter and camaraderie in that instant were human, patriotic reactions to a once-in-a-lifetime win, not an invitation to be shamed by virtue-signaling elites.
Rapinoe doubled down on her critique on her podcast, lamenting that the men “gave this whole moment over” and taking aim at the presence of FBI Director Kash Patel in the celebration. For all her moral grandstanding, Rapinoe’s selective outrage ignores the reality that athletes have always accepted congratulations from political leaders of both parties when asked.
Megyn Kelly rightly unloaded on Rapinoe’s sanctimony, calling out the hypocrisy of blasting a Republican president while remaining silent about past Democrat involvement in team celebrations. That fairness-free rage is the hallmark of modern leftist celebrity: pick your targets based on politics, not principle, and declare anyone who disagrees a villain.
Conservatives should be blunt: politicizing a locker-room phone call is petty and unpatriotic. The men’s team accomplished something glorious for the flag and for hardworking Americans who love the sport, and their joy ought to be defended, not ridiculed by those who profit from grievance.
If Rapinoe’s critique is rooted in jealousy, as Kelly argues, then it reveals the emptiness of identity politics when it replaces real achievement. She made millions and used her platform to antagonize large swaths of the country; the response to her latest attack should be to stand by the athletes who actually earned that gold.
The larger story isn’t about a phone call or a joke; it’s about who gets to define patriotism in America. Hardworking men who wear the stars and stripes deserve our respect, not the sneers of a washed-up culture warrior who mistakes outrage for leadership.
So to Rapinoe and her fellow travelers: enjoy your bitter life while the rest of us celebrate what matters—real accomplishment, genuine pride, and the kind of unity that doesn’t require permission from the chattering class. America will keep cheering its champions, and we won’t let the self-righteous cancel culture steal their moment.
