Trump welcomes the former athletes in the Oval Office.Image: keystone
Dec 13, 2025, 11:21 amDec 13, 2025, 11:21 am
President Donald Trump welcomed the legendary 1980 US ice hockey team to the White House. The team beat the heavily favored team from the Soviet Union at the Olympic Games 45 years ago in Lake Placid, New York, and won the gold medal. In the USA this is celebrated as the “miracle on ice”.
Trump said at the meeting that it was one of the greatest moments he had ever seen in sports. «These are the men who gave us one of the greatest sporting victories of all time. They call it the “Miracle on Ice,” and I think that’s exactly what it was.”
The victory of the team, which consisted primarily of amateurs, united the USA at the time. A congressional tribute signed by Trump said the players’ victory had revived American morale at the height of the Cold War.
The players and relatives of deceased players wore white cowboy hats at the meeting in Trump’s office, the Oval Office – in memory of the look at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. (sda/dpa)