Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) has introduced legislation that would impose a tax on income earned by American athletes who compete in international sporting events on behalf of foreign governments.
The proposal, titled the &#8220;Officially Limiting Yearly Money Procured by Individuals Concerning Sportsmanship Act,” or OLYMPICS Act, would apply to athletes who represent what the law defines as &#8220;foreign entities of concern.&#8221; Those countries include China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea.
Although the legislation would not apply retroactively, Ogles cited freestyle skier Eileen Gu as the inspiration for the proposal, <a href="https://www.outkick.com/sports/exclusive-rep-andy-ogles-bill-targets-eileen-gu-tax-olympics-china" target="_blank" rel="noopener">OutKick</a> reported. Gu, an American-born athlete, won a gold medal and two silver medals while competing for China at the recent Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy. Her decision to represent China drew criticism in the United States. She also represented the communist government at the 2022 Beijing Games. Gu was raised in the United States by her mother, who immigrated from China.
“Any American who works with a foreign adversary has not only betrayed our country, but must be stripped of all benefits from doing so. That is why I am ensuring that the IRS takes every dollar earned by athletes like Eileen Gu,” Ogles told the outlet.
He added that the bill would impose an excise tax on athletes who compete internationally for &#8220;a foreign country of concern.&#8221;
&#8220;Being American is a privilege, and anyone who openly mocks that privilege on the world stage must be punished,” the congressman continued.
China awards prize money to Olympic medalists, but it’s unclear how much they earn, according to <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/16/2026-winter-olympics-medal-bonus-payouts-by-country-athletes-milano-cortina.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CNBC</a>.
Vice President JD Vance said last week on Fox News that “someone who grew up in the United States of America, who benefited from our education system, from the freedoms and liberties that makes this country a great place, I would hope they want to compete with the United States of America.”

Freestyle Skiing – Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Day 14

GOP Rep Cites Eileen Gu In Push To Tax Athletes Competing For ‘Foreign Entities Of Concern’

GOP Rep Cites Eileen Gu In Push To Tax Athletes Competing For 'Foreign Entities Of Concern'

China

Congress

Olympics

Sports

Taxes

This article is part of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/introducing-upstream-a-lifestyle-and-culture-section-of-the-daily-wire" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Upstream,</a> The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.
***
For a brief moment on Sunday, America was united. After the final Olympic hockey showdown between the United States and Canada went into overtime, Americans watched with glee as we <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/usa-wins-olympic-hockey-gold-in-ot-thriller-over-canada?author=Andie+Valdes&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=USA+Wins+Olympic+Hockey+Gold+In+OT+Thriller+Over+Canada">beat</a> our northern neighbors at their own game. Forward Jack Hughes, who <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/gold-lost-teeth-and-a-true-grit-american-moment-from-jack-hughes">sacrificed</a> at least half a tooth for the win, <a href="https://x.com/NHL/status/2025609617401667925">flashed</a> us an iconic, bloody smile, and people across the nation celebrated yet another Olympic gold.
Then, in less time than it probably took for Hughes to call his dentist, the unity shattered. While the team celebrated in the locker room, President Donald Trump called to congratulate the players on their win and invite them to Tuesday’s State of the Union address. Then, Trump being Trump, he made a joke.
“I must tell you, we&#8217;re going to have to bring the women’s team. You do know that?” he said. If he didn’t invite the team, he said, “I do believe I probably would be impeached.”
A <a href="https://x.com/HarrisonKrank/status/2025740079319175508">video</a> of the call went viral, and commentators grew gravely indignant on behalf of the women’s gold medal-winning team. But instead of criticizing Trump, the person who actually made the churlish remark, they went after the players.
“The USA men’s hockey team utterly failed to meet the cultural moment,” <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2026/02/23/united-states-mens-hockey-team-olympics-donald-trump-call-kash-patel-failure/88824415007/">declared</a> a USA Today writer. “The U.S. men’s Olympic hockey team won gold — and then lost the room,” <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7068426/2026/02/24/usa-mens-olympics-hockey-gold-donald-trump/">whined</a> a columnist at the New York Times. Incredibly, Vox <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/480181/alysa-liu-eileen-gu-winter-olympics-gold-medal-winenrs-losers">released</a> a list of the winners and losers of the Olympics, fawning over Eileen Gu, an American who chose to represent communist China, as a “winner,” and declaring the U.S. men’s hockey team a “loser.” Various internet onlookers demanded that the team <a href="https://x.com/simpjd74/status/2026323059783708914">“do better”</a> and <a href="https://x.com/IanKennedyCK/status/2026156754288120197">“apologize for laughing.”</a>
Perhaps the funniest development was the solemn response of Twitter fan page “daily jack hughes,” which <a href="https://x.com/dailyjhugh/status/2025988408586150189">posted</a>, “hi, honestly I am unsure of what to do with this account right now. I will figure it out eventually, but there will be no daily content happening. linked below are some important resources. lastly, f*ck ice and this administration. never stop supporting women.”
These critics’ demands were many. The team must explicitly denounce Trump and his administration, refuse his invitation to the State of the Union like the women’s hockey team did (apparently for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/two-gold-medal-teams-two-very-different-responses-to-trumps-invitation">scheduling conflicts</a>), personally apologize for Trump’s joke, and probably invent a time machine and smash the cell phone Trump called them on. 
No matter that the players have been supportive of their female peers. On Sunday, Hughes <a href="https://www.outkick.com/sports/jack-hughes-megan-keller-first-person-thought-of-gold-medal-winning-goal-olympics">said</a> the first person he thought of after scoring the winning goal was Megan Keller, who had just cinched the win for the U.S. women’s team. Even in the video, one player can be heard chanting “two for two!” in honor of both teams’ wins.
Hughes, for his part, has responded to the controversy like a champ. “They&#8217;ve got busy schedules, too,” he <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/winterolympics/article-15586847/jack-hughes-team-usa-hockey-trump.html">said</a> of the women’s team in response to criticism of their declining the White House invitation. “Everyone is giving us backlash for all the social media stuff today.”
This, he suggested, is a non-controversy. “People are so negative out there, and they are just trying to find a reason to put people down and make something out of almost nothing,” he said. 
Hughes’s mother, a former hockey player herself, also refused to take the bait. &#8220;These players, both the men and women, can bring so much unity to a group and to a country,” she <a href="https://www.today.com/news/sports/ellen-hughes-mom-jack-quinn-hughes-trump-mens-hockey-video-controversy-rcna260398">said</a>.
It’s not really worth arguing over to what degree President Trump’s joke was in poor taste. The U.S. men’s team could have immediately embarked on the cable news apology circuit and made a fat donation to the National Organization for Women, and it still wouldn’t have been good enough. Short of posting Luigi Mangione fanfiction, there is no way for them to redeem themselves in the eyes of progressives, for whom everything, always, is political.
Of course, there were no such controversies when former President Joe Biden hosted Olympians in 2024 and 2022. For all of our faults, we conservatives tend not to compare our presidents to Nazis and demand that athletes and celebrities refrain from fraternizing with them. Not so for our counterparts across the aisle. 
To the legacy media and some keyboard warriors on Twitter, there is no such thing as neutrality. “This isn’t a neutral climate,” wrote the New York Times columnist in his criticism of the men’s hockey team. “This isn’t a neutral president.”
But the president is never neutral. He has always represented a particular party with its own ambitions that might be served by latching on to the good publicity of an Olympic win. What has changed is that certain figures in the media have decided that you’re only allowed to engage with one side, the “good” side, which is therefore neutral. The best you can hope for as a public figure is for no one to ask you about politics. That game isn’t as simple as hockey. If the mob comes for you, there is no way to win.
***
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
Have an idea for Upstream? We welcome submissions; interested writers can send pitches to upstream@dailywire.com.

Ice Hockey – Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics: Day 16

From Gold Medal Glory To Progressive Public Enemies: Why The Leftist Mob Came For Team USA

Donald Trump

Media

Upstream

Winter Olympics

In a week where American dominance on the ice reached levels not seen in nearly half a century, the legacy media found itself predictably obsessed with a joke. But while the &#8220;outrage machine&#8221; spun over a phone call from President Donald Trump, the woman at the center of the Hughes hockey dynasty, Ellen Hughes, was busy reminding the country what actually matters: patriotism and winning.
Team USA didn’t just beat Canada in Milan—they delivered a double dose of overtime heartbreak to our neighbors to the north and sent the Stars and Stripes soaring. First, the women’s team reclaimed gold in a sudden-death thriller. Days later, the men ended a 46-year drought with an overtime &#8220;Golden Goal&#8221; of their own.
And yes, President Trump noticed.
After the men’s team clinched the top spot on the podium—thanks to a Jack Hughes game-winner for the ages—Trump called to offer his congratulations. During the now-viral call, the President joked that he’d better invite the women’s team to the State of the Union as well, quipping that if he didn&#8217;t, “I do believe I probably would be impeached.”
While the &#8220;political class&#8221; immediately fainted onto their couches, Ellen Hughes—mother of NHL stars Jack and Quinn and a player development consultant for the gold medal-winning women’s squad—responded with the kind of grace and perspective rarely found in Washington.
<a href="https://www.today.com/news/sports/ellen-hughes-mom-jack-quinn-hughes-trump-mens-hockey-video-controversy-rcna260398">Appearing</a> on NBC’s &#8220;TODAY,&#8221; Hughes brushed past the partisan bickering to focus on the achievement of the athletes.
“At the end of the day, it’s just about the country,” she said. “I think the moment that these players, both the men and women, can bring so much unity to a group and to a country—people that cheered on that don’t watch hockey, people that have politics on one side or on the other side—that’s all both teams care about.”
Inside the Olympic bubble, Hughes described a refreshing scene of genuine camaraderie that stands in stark contrast to today’s hyper-polarized climate. The men’s and women’s teams shared dorms, cheered each other on from the stands, and celebrated as one American unit.
“It couldn’t have gone better,” Hughes said. “Both teams going undefeated. We couldn’t have written a better story.”
Her son, Jack Hughes, echoed that sentiment, making it clear that the bond between the two squads is far deeper than any political headline.
&#8220;If there&#8217;s a camera on me and Quinn when the women&#8217;s team won, we look like the biggest superfans of all time,&#8221; Jack said. &#8220;We were just jumping up and down. We couldn&#8217;t believe it. We locked in and said goodbye to everyone because we had a game the next night &#8230; but I remember I saw [Megan Keller] the night after they won. I was just like, &#8216;Megan, I&#8217;m so proud of you. I&#8217;m so happy for you.&#8217; When mine went in, one of my first thoughts was her &#8230; I&#8217;m so proud to join her as a gold medalist.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Jack Hughes on supporting the U.S. women’s hockey team&#8230;
“I wish — if there&#39;s a camera on me and Quinn when the women&#39;s team won, we’d look like the biggest superfans of all time. We were just jumping up and down. We couldn&#39;t believe it. And we locked in, said goodbye because… <a href="https://t.co/41Z8PnEjnd">pic.twitter.com/41Z8PnEjnd</a>
&mdash; Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) <a href="https://twitter.com/CurtisHouck/status/2026332796671672559?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 24, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
While the women’s team ultimately declined the State of the Union invitation due to professional and academic scheduling conflicts, they remained &#8220;sincerely grateful&#8221; for the recognition. Meanwhile, the men’s team is expected to be in attendance tonight at the U.S. Capitol, &#8220;somehow, some way,&#8221; according to Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA).
Despite the media’s best efforts to turn a historic sporting achievement into a partisan wedge issue, the Hughes family and Team USA have stayed focused on the mission.
Two gold medals. Two overtime wins over Canada. One country celebrating together. In the end, it was a rare moment where excellence and patriotism took a front seat, and the political noise was left in the locker room.
Not bad for a couple of hockey games.

Unity Over Politics: Ellen Hughes Schools Media After Team USA’s Historic ‘Double Gold’ Sweep

General

Men's Hockey

U.S.

Not even 48 hours after they clinched their first gold medal in 46 years, the men of the U.S. Olympic hockey team landed on American soil — and proceeded with gusto to paint the Miami club scene red, white, and blue.
Videos quickly circulated on X of the team descending on the popular Miami hotspot E11even, where they led the crowd in a loud, raucous rendition of &#8220;The Star-Spangled Banner.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
The US hockey team rolled into E11ven night club in Miami and led the club in singing the national anthem. This is phenomenal: <a href="https://t.co/Fq3oa3NwZN">pic.twitter.com/Fq3oa3NwZN</a>
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClayTravis/status/2026186773030678923?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 24, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The boisterous — and clearly infectious — patriotism didn&#8217;t stop there, as members of the team then went on to lead the crowd in singing Lee Greenwood&#8217;s &#8220;God Bless the U.S.A.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
US hockey team leads Miami’s E11ven night club in singing Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA.” <a href="https://t.co/tV7tx338df">pic.twitter.com/tV7tx338df</a>
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClayTravis/status/2026295728897740859?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 24, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The team led the singing themselves, pouring drinks for fans as they sang along. And when the song came to the iconic line — &#8220;I will gladly stand up next to you, and defend her still today&#8221; — every single member of Team USA stopped and stood tall.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Elite patriotic awareness from the US gold medal hockey team during Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA,” last night. You’ve gotta skate to where the puck is going, not where it is. <a href="https://t.co/o6ze96AHuh">pic.twitter.com/o6ze96AHuh</a>
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClayTravis/status/2026308752912404583?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 24, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The late country star Toby Keith&#8217;s &#8220;Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue&#8221; also got a nod during the celebration.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
US men’s gold medal hockey team leads E11ven night club in singing along to Toby Keith’s “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue.” <a href="https://t.co/SPx32kKbk3">pic.twitter.com/SPx32kKbk3</a>
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClayTravis/status/2026306274573644002?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 24, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The team is also set to join the crowd on Tuesday evening for President Donald Trump&#8217;s State of the Union Address. Trump issued the invitation during a post-game call to the locker room just after Team USA clinched the gold in a nail-biter of a game. He was barely able to get the words out before members of the team interrupted to tell him, &#8220;We&#8217;re in!&#8221;
Team member <a href="https://x.com/curtishouck/status/2026280462759436783">Quinn Hughes</a> — alongside his brother and teammate Jack Hughes — told ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos on Tuesday that everyone was looking forward to attending the president&#8217;s address.
&#8220;I don&#8217;t know how much we&#8217;re allowed to say, but yes. Yeah, we&#8217;re excited to go. Something you don&#8217;t get to do — I don&#8217;t know what today is — every Tuesday. But yeah — but, it&#8217;s going to be special for us, but I&#8217;m glad you mentioned the women&#8217;s team again. You know, we&#8217;re really happy for them. Obviously, a lot going on on social media surrounding our team and their team. But, you know, the last couple we&#8217;ve done a lot of training with them and got to know a lot of those girls really well. We&#8217;re extremely happy to come,&#8221; he said.
Jack Hughes, upon landing in Miami on Monday, spoke to a reporter about <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/gold-lost-teeth-and-a-true-grit-american-moment-from-jack-hughes">losing teeth</a> in the gold-medal game and still going on to score the game-winning goal.
&#8220;It sounds like definitely crazy for you guys because just different profession, but in hockey, like, if you lose your teeth, it’s not even a question of, like, coming back and playing,” Hughes said. “That’s like an automatic.&#8221;
&#8220;The Gold Medal is for all the guys that have come before us, and all the young kids that are going to come after us,” he added. “We want to leave USA Hockey in a better place than when we first got there.&#8221;

USA Men’s Hockey Team Celebrate Their Olympic Gold At E11EVEN Miami

SEE IT: Fresh Off Olympic Gold, USA Hockey Brings Red-White-And-Blue Swagger To Club In Miami

Hockey

Politics

Team USA Hockey star Jack Hughes explained during a Monday interview why it never occurred to him not to keep playing after he lost his front tooth in the gold medal matchup against rival Canada.
Hughes, taking the question after he and his teammates returned to the United States, said he knew that to anyone in any other profession, he might &#8220;sound crazy,&#8221; and, though disappointed about losing a tooth, there was no way he would have come off the ice for that.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Team USA star Jack Hughes was asked about the moment he lost his tooth during the Olympic gold medal game.
He said he never even questioned whether he would continue playing after.
HUGHES: “Yeah. I mean it sounds like definitely crazy for you guys because just different… <a href="https://t.co/d4aMKnnhPt">pic.twitter.com/d4aMKnnhPt</a>
— Overton (@overton_news) <a href="https://twitter.com/overton_news/status/2026039414195990921?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 23, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The question was a simple one: &#8220;You get hit in the face. You lose a tooth or two. You still maintained your composure and stayed in the game. You&#8217;re tough enough to keep playing, you scored the winning goal &#8230; what is that like?&#8221;
&#8220;Yeah. I mean, it sounds like definitely crazy for you guys because just different profession, but in hockey, like, if you lose your teeth, it’s not even a question of, like, coming back and playing,&#8221; Hughes replied. &#8220;That’s like an automatic.&#8221;
Hughes described the moment he realized what had happened, saying, &#8220;I just, like, was feeling around my mouth and I was just disappointed I lost my teeth.&#8221;
&#8220;But it is what it is now, so,&#8221; he added with a laugh.
When asked whether he planned to keep his newly rearranged grin, he said, &#8220;No, I’m going to fix these things, I want my good smile back.&#8221;
Pressed for a smile so that everyone could get a good look at the damage, Hughes said no — but clearly struggled not to smile.
Hughes stepped up when asked to add a message for his &#8220;young fans,&#8221; saying that the hard-fought gold medal — the first for Team USA Hockey since 1980 — was not just for him and his teammates, but for all the young aspiring hockey players who would come after them.
&#8220;The Gold Medal is for all the guys that have come before us, and all the young kids that are going to come after us,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We want to leave USA Hockey in a better place than when we first got there.&#8221;

Gold, Lost Teeth, And A True-Grit American Moment From Jack Hughes

Gold, Lost Teeth And A True-Grit American Moment From Jack Hughes

In the wake of Team USA&#8217;s first Olympic gold in men&#8217;s hockey since the 1980 &#8220;Miracle on Ice,&#8221; two prominent leftist outlets derided the patriotic celebration, triggering a visceral response from the American public.
Huffington Post posted the following on X: “If waving the American flag or chanting ‘USA!’ turns you off right now, you&#8217;re not alone.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
If waving the American flag or chanting “USA!” turns you off right now, you&#39;re not alone.  <a href="https://t.co/ndUODJtix4">https://t.co/ndUODJtix4</a>
&mdash; HuffPost (@HuffPost) <a href="https://twitter.com/HuffPost/status/2025221670592508339?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 21, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/theres-a-name-for-the-discomfort-youre-feeling-watching-the-olympics-right-now-goog_l_6997616ce4b012cccb427770?d_id=11546752&amp;ncid_tag=tweetlnkushpmg00000067&amp;utm_medium=Social&amp;utm_source=Twitter&amp;utm_campaign=us_main">HuffPo article</a> linked in X post went further, arguing: “While President Donald Trump’s deportation agenda separates families, and federal agents detain 5-year-olds and kill unarmed civilians, American athletes are winning medals on behalf of the nation at the Olympics right now. This whiplash between pride for United States competitors and national shame for the federal government is common.”
The article continued: “The degree to which you feel shame and guilt right now for cheering U.S. Olympians might also depend on how much cognitive dissonance you have between the stated values of being American –– freedom, revolutionary spirit, opportunity for all –– versus how our government has actually acted in the hundreds of years since the U.S. was formed &#8230;”
The post was brutally “ratioed” — social media shorthand for when replies vastly outnumber likes. By Monday morning, it had received roughly 25,000 replies compared to about 1,500 likes.
&#8220;If you can’t be excited about winning gold at the Olympics— including in OT vs Canada, you don’t have a pulse. Some people will pick victimhood and being miserable over having an ounce of patriotism. Good luck,&#8221; Oklahoma GOP Sen. Markwayne Mullin wrote on X.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
If you can’t be excited about winning gold at the Olympics— including in OT vs Canada, you don’t have a pulse.
Some people will pick victimhood and being miserable over having an ounce of patriotism. Good luck. 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 <a href="https://t.co/3bRT9ONwWs">https://t.co/3bRT9ONwWs</a> <a href="https://t.co/deLxmJJ3vw">pic.twitter.com/deLxmJJ3vw</a>
&mdash; Markwayne Mullin (@SenMullin) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenMullin/status/2025656019481661520?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 22, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Axios acknowledged the celebratory environment but also <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/02/22/maga-hockey-olympics-gold-medal-canada">threw cold water</a> on the excitement, writing: “Celebrating American athletes is nothing new — but in a hyper-partisan political environment, the president and MAGA world voices have also used their platforms to boo some U.S. talent.”
The Left mocking the patriotic Olympic moments is not new. During the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, Time Magazine<a href="https://time.com/8473/its-time-to-get-over-the-miracle-on-ice/?utm_source=chatgpt.com"> downplayed</a> the legacy of the 1980 “Miracle on Ice,” writing: “In the professional sporting press, references to the Miracle on Ice have become a grating cliché, much more likely to inspire a cringe in the context of Sochi than a wistful stare into the distance.”

HuffPost Mocks Team USA Pride — Americans Clap Back

Huffington Post

Patriotism

President Donald Trump’s deadline for a deal with Iran draws near, Secret Service takes down a Mar-a-Lago intruder, and Team USA reignites the American spirit with thrilling victories on the ice.
It’s Monday, February 23, 2026, and this is the news you need to know to start your day. Today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below:
<iframe style="width: 100%; max-width: 660px; overflow: hidden; border-radius: 10px;" src="https://embed.podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/iran-negotiations-intensify-mar-a-lago-intruder/id1576594336?i=1000750986850" height="175" frameborder="0" sandbox="allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation"></iframe>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">The U.S.-Iran Showdown</h2>
American and Iranian diplomats meet again to work <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/live-updates-iranian-protests-intensify-as-citizens-demand-end-to-ayatollah-rule">towards</a> a nuclear deal, as President Trump continues to threaten military action. 
Now that Trump’s military buildup in the Middle East is nearly complete, he has a range of options at his disposal, and the world is waiting to see which way he’ll go. White House officials say he could launch limited strikes on nuclear sites in the coming days, with the message: capitulate, or we’ll go harder. He could also specifically target the supreme leader and his son, widely viewed as the successor. Or he could simply keep the forces in place and allow negotiations to continue, albeit with a very different dynamic than before. 
Iranian officials on social media and in speeches have struck a defiant tone, taunting the United States, vowing to send American carriers to the bottom of the ocean.
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Gunman Killed At Mar-a-Lago</h2>
Authorities shot and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/armed-intruder-with-shotgun-sparks-deadly-secret-service-response-at-mar-a-lago">killed</a> an armed man who walked through one of the main gates of Mar-a-Lago early Sunday morning. 
According to authorities, a young man entered the inner perimeter around 1:30 in the morning. He was carrying a gas can and a shotgun, and he walked through one of the club’s main gates as a vehicle was exiting. Law enforcement who were assigned to Mar-a-Lago responded. Two Secret Service agents and a sheriff’s deputy fatally shot the man after he disregarded orders to drop the shotgun. 
The dead man has been <a href="https://www.miamiherald.com/news/state/florida/article314795124.html">identified</a> as 21-year-old Austin Tucker Martin. He is originally from North Carolina, where his family reported him missing about the same time he was killed. Early on Sunday morning, a family member told a sheriff’s deputy from North Carolina’s Moore County that Martin had been unreachable since about 8 p.m. on Saturday. Later that morning, Martin’s mother posted about her son on Facebook, asking for help finding him.
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Olympic Wrap Up</h2>
The Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics have drawn to a close, but not before delivering one of the most emotionally charged finishes in decades.
 From the United States men’s hockey golds to breakout stars like Alysa Liu, the games have reignited a renewed American spirit. After a rocky start due to anti-ICE statements, Team USA athletes didn’t just score medals; they delivered iconic moments that deeply connected with the public. 
The U.S. men <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/revenge-served-cold-team-usa-takes-gold-over-canada-in-olympic-sudden-death-overtime?author=Andie+Valdes&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Revenge+Served+Cold%3A+Team+USA+Takes+Gold+Over+Canada+In+Olympic+Sudden-Death+Overtime">defeating</a> Canada in overtime for Olympic gold marked the country’s first men’s hockey gold since 1980, the &#8220;Miracle on Ice.&#8221; Jack Hughes’ winning goal sent the U.S. bench into chaos and reignited memories of American hockey’s defining moments. 
Elsewhere on the ice, figure skater Alysa Liu has become bigger than medals. The young athlete <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/american-figure-skaters-father-narrowly-escaped-china-she-just-won-olympic-gold?author=Andie+Valdes&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Alysa+Liu%E2%80%99s+Father+Escaped+China.+She+Just+Won+Olympic+Gold+For+The+United+States.">carried</a> herself with humility, joy, and visible love for her country. Liu’s success was particularly poignant when contrasted with that of skier Eileen Gu, who, though American, agreed to compete for Communist China. Her performances were emotional, technically strong, and original. When she finished her program, the reaction wasn’t just applause; it was affection.

MRN_260223_V2

Morning Brief: Iran Talks Heat Up, Mar-A-Lago Intruder, & Team USA On Fire

Florida

Iran

Mar-a-Lago

Morning Wire

United States

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&#8217;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&#8217;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.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
You can hear the genuine pride in Donald Trumps voice when he called the Team USA Hockey Team <a href="https://t.co/ch6GbXShwh">pic.twitter.com/ch6GbXShwh</a>
— Harrison Krank (@HarrisonKrank) <a href="https://twitter.com/HarrisonKrank/status/2025740079319175508?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 23, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;By the way, your goalie played &#8230; not bad,&#8221; Trump could be heard saying of goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, and several of the players laughed and cheered. &#8220;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&#8217;t know if you have to play them again any time soon.&#8221;
&#8220;I&#8217;ll tell you what, I just told my people two minutes ago, I didn&#8217;t know they&#8217;d be calling, I said we&#8217;re giving the State of the Union speech on Tuesday night,&#8221; Trump continued. &#8220;I could send a military plane or something, but if you would like to, it&#8217;s the coolest night, it&#8217;s the biggest speech —&#8221;
Several of the players interrupted as Trump was talking to say, &#8220;We&#8217;re in!&#8221;
&#8220;Can you pick us up in Miami on Tuesday morning?&#8221; 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.
&#8220;The nice thing about being president, is I can tell you, you don&#8217;t have to worry about the weather or landing,&#8221; Trump added, prompting more laughter from the team. &#8220;We don&#8217;t care if it&#8217;s snowing, if it&#8217;s the worst blizzard, you&#8217;ll be sailing through that sucker just like you did on the ice.&#8221;
&#8220;Thank you, Mr. President!&#8221; one shouted then.
Trump went on to joke about an upcoming visit to the White House, saying that he would &#8220;have to&#8221; also invite the women&#8217;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&#8217;d be impeached if he didn&#8217;t.
&#8220;Congratulations, that was an unbelievable game,&#8221; Trump said as they wrapped up the call. &#8220;I don&#8217;t know one person that wasn&#8217;t — everybody that called me said, &#8216;I&#8217;m watching the hockey game,&#8217; I don&#8217;t know of anybody that wasn&#8217;t. You&#8217;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!&#8221;
&#8220;I&#8217;m going to shake hands with everybody, but I gotta shake hands with that goalie,&#8221; Trump concluded, and the room exploded again with laughter and cheers.
&#8220;We&#8217;ll see you Tuesday night, Mr. President,&#8221; one said.
&#8220;I&#8217;m driving the bus, boss,&#8221; Patel quipped as the video came to an end.
&#8220;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,&#8221; Coach Mike Sullivan said of the president&#8217;s call. &#8220;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.&#8221;

Listen To Donald Trump’s Call To USA Hockey Team

FBI Director Kash Patel praised the gold-medal winning U.S. hockey team — and mocked the &#8220;very concerned media&#8221; — in a social media post acknowledging that he had, in fact, rubbed elbows with the Olympic champions after their dramatic win over Canada.
&#8220;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,&#8221; Patel posted on X. &#8220;Greatest country on earth and greatest sport on earth.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
For the very concerned media &#8211; 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) <a href="https://twitter.com/Kash_Patel/status/2025736412125855918?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 23, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Patel shared another congratulatory post earlier on Sunday, including several photos of the team and of himself celebrating alongside them. &#8220;Unity, Sacrifice, Attitude,&#8221; he said. &#8220;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.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
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.… <a href="https://t.co/hBG987pxM2">pic.twitter.com/hBG987pxM2</a>
— Kash Patel (@Kash_Patel) <a href="https://twitter.com/Kash_Patel/status/2025663993205936176?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 22, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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&#8217;s hockey team has won Olympic gold in 46 years. In fact, the Americans haven&#8217;t taken the top of the podium since the game dubbed &#8220;the Miracle on Ice&#8221; — 1980&#8217;s Lake Placid win over the heavily-favored Soviet Union.
Patel&#8217;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, <a href="https://x.com/XochitlHinojosa/status/2025731516236480756">complained</a>, &#8220;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?&#8221;

Kash Patel Owns Partying With USA Hockey Team: ‘Yes, I Love America’

Kash Patel Owns Partying With USA Hockey Team: 'Yes, I Love America'

Italy

The White House taunted former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau after the United States bested its northern neighbor in a tense overtime battle on Sunday at the Milan Olympics.
Following the win, President Donald Trump&#8217;s White House took to X to share an image of a bald eagle smashing a Canada goose face-first into the ice.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<a href="https://t.co/kOiCXdVMao">https://t.co/kOiCXdVMao</a> <a href="https://t.co/ZIiychKPoo">pic.twitter.com/ZIiychKPoo</a>
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) <a href="https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/2025604750608040191?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 22, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The White House was responding to a post shared by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trudeau-says-you-cant-take-our-country-after-canadas-narrow-hockey-victory-over-team-usa">Trudeau</a> one year earlier, after Canada defeated Team USA in the 4 Nations Face-Off hockey championship, as The Daily Wire previously reported. Days earlier, the Americans had bested Canada in Montreal — after Canadian fans booed America’s national anthem. American fans fired back ahead of Thursday&#8217;s game, booing during the singing of “O Canada.”
&#8220;You can’t take our country — and you can’t take our game,&#8221; Trudeau said at the time, jabbing at Trump over prior claims that he&#8217;d annex Canada and make it the 51st state.
Semifinal victories on Friday (the United States over Slovakia and Canada over Finland) had pitted the North American neighbors against each other for the finals — the Americans delivered the win in a nail-biter that went into overtime on Sunday morning.
Trump himself also offered congratulations to the American team, saying, &#8220;Congratulations to our great U.S.A. Ice Hockey team. THEY WON THE GOLD. WOW! President DONALD J. TRUMP.&#8221;
Sunday&#8217;s win marks the first time in 46 years — to the day — that a U.S. men&#8217;s Olympic hockey team has won gold. The last time it happened, in 1980, a team comprised of college students was able to overcome enormous odds and best the heavily-favored defending gold-medal team from the Soviet Union. The stunning upset was quickly dubbed the &#8220;Miracle on Ice.&#8221;
The USA men&#8217;s victory comes just three days after the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trudeau-says-you-cant-take-our-country-after-canadas-narrow-hockey-victory-over-team-usa">women&#8217;s gold-medal match</a> on Thursday — which was also a showdown between the United States and Canada. The American women went into the final game with a strong tournament record, outscoring their previous six opponents 31-1 and not allowing a single goal in more than five consecutive games. They, too, came out victorious.

General Views in New York

White House Taunts Justin Trudeau After U.S. Hockey Bests Canada In Olympic Gold-Medal Match

Justin Trudeau

This article is part of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/introducing-upstream-a-lifestyle-and-culture-section-of-the-daily-wire" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Upstream,</a> The Daily Wire’s new home for for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.
***
It is perhaps inevitable that a major global event such as the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/winter-olympics">Olympic Games</a> will become politicized. From the Nazi appropriation of the 1936 Berlin Games to the long Cold War rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union, competition has always taken on what Al Michaels <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SR56GJ05IMs&amp;t=5s">once called</a> a “nationalistic sense.” But at the 2026 Milan Cortina Games happening now, the media have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/how-do-olympians-feel-about-representing-the-u-s-at-winter-games">pushed</a> things to a whole new level. Journalists seem intent on turning Olympians into politicians.
The real flashpoint was <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-olympian-hunter-hess-responds-trump-loser/">an interview</a> with Team USA skier Hunter Hess. During a press conference, he was goaded into expressing his personal disagreements with certain Trump administration policies. “Just because I&#8217;m wearing the flag doesn&#8217;t mean I represent everything that&#8217;s going on in the U.S.,” he said. President Donald Trump himself shot back, calling Hess a “real loser.” The whole thing has turned into a media circus, distracting from the excellence all Team USA athletes have been pursuing.
To some extent, the media’s agenda here is pretty straightforward; politicization and incendiary headlines drive clicks and social media views. But there is also a real double standard that ought to outrage all Olympics fans and American citizens. Eileen Gu, a freestyle skier born and educated in the United States but competing for the People’s Republic of China, has mostly escaped questions about the Chinese Communist Party’s totalitarian atrocities. NBC, which broadcasts the Olympics in the United States, has even <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/news/nbc-lavishes-praise-on-american-born-olympic-skier-competing-for-china/">tried making</a> Gu into a star. The Today show did not ask her about the persecution of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/jimmy-lai">Jimmy Lai</a> or the genocide of the Uyghur people, even while NBC has covered statements American athletes have made about U.S. immigration policy or social issues.
Unlike China, the U.S. government does not pay our athletes. The United States Olympic Committee is a federally chartered nonprofit and funded entirely by private sources. American Olympians may receive corporate sponsorships, but putting on the red, white, and blue and competing for our people is a sacrifice in a way that is not the case for other countries. These athletes are not hirelings; they find a way to turn the pursuit of personal excellence into an act of genuine patriotism. Authoritarian regimes can try buying themselves medals by recruiting mercenaries such as Gu, but they will never be able to purchase that genuine Olympic spirit.
There have been plenty of inspiring stories about American athletes at these games, but none provides a starker contrast with Gu than Team USA figure skater Alysa Liu. She was a star as a teenager, but she <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/sports/olympics/alysa-liu-rcna252418">retired</a> at the age of 16 to focus on living a normal life. Liu made a triumphant return to the world of figure skating in 2024, and she often <a href="https://usfigureskating.org/news/2026/1/30/national-team-figure-skating-liu-rejects-conventional-wisdom-while-embracing-artistry.aspx">explains</a> that her sport has become a kind of art. Already a gold medalist in the team event, Liu is currently positioned to medal again in the individual competition. Her skating is remarkably beautiful, a true wonder to behold.
Equally fascinating, though, is the political backdrop of Liu’s young career. Like Gu, she is the daughter of a Chinese immigrant to the United States. But unlike the skier, her family holds no illusions about the CCP’s tyranny. Liu’s father Arthur was <a href="https://abc7news.com/archive/6847285/">deeply involved</a> with the Chinese Democracy Movement in the 1980s, joining the protests at Tiananmen Square and witnessing the subsequent massacre firsthand. He has always been a vocal critic of the communist regime and is, in no uncertain terms, a political refugee.
The CCP initially tried recruiting Liu to skate for it under the same “naturalization program” that sponsored Gu’s defection. Given her family’s firsthand experience of communist oppression, though, she understandably rebuffed the effort. The CCP, however, would not take no for an answer. In 2022, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/16/china-targeted-dad-of-olympic-figure-skater-alysa-liu-new-doj-case-says.html">the Department of Justice charged</a> Chinese agents with conducting an intimidation campaign against the Liu family and other Chinese Americans critical of the regime. Apparently, one spy even <a href="https://apnews.com/article/travel-sports-crime-figure-skating-beijing-3cd135005bb769b507199012cd5a0d22">pretended</a> to be a USOC official to steal information from the Lius. The State Department even had to take special precautions to protect Alysa Liu when she competed in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
Perhaps the most American part of the story, though, is that Liu has used her massive platform as a figure skating star to shine the light on her father’s sacrifices and the fight for human rights. “Honestly I would just have the main focus be my dad&#8217;s story because his story is so cool and also everything … happened because of what he did,” <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/sports/us-figure-skater-alysa-liu-opens-up-being-targeted-chinese-spying-operation-fbis-protection">she said at a media summit in 2025</a>. “So, like I feel like we got to start with the roots.” 
“We represent the people,” she said in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-NL37UpSRU">another interview</a> when asked about patriotism at the games. Liu is only 20 years old, but already she understands that the flag she competes under means something more than nationalistic pride; it symbolizes the hope of freedom for millions worldwide. 
Authoritarian regimes in places such as China, Iran, and Russia have always sought to use the Olympic Games to promote their ideologies, and the commercial media are all too willing to turn a blind eye or even become complicit. But stories such as Liu’s, and those of other patriotic American athletes, demonstrate in no uncertain terms how incompatible that goal is with the true Olympic spirit. The freedom American athletes enjoy — even to criticize their own country — is in fact the reason why we consistently embody such excellence at the games. And that’s nothing to apologize for.
***
Michael Lucchese is the founder of <a href="http://www.pipecreekconsulting.com/">Pipe Creek Consulting</a>, an associate editor of <a href="https://lawliberty.org/author/mluccheselibertyfund-org/">Law &amp; Liberty</a>, and a contributing editor to <a href="https://providencemag.com/authors/michael-lucchese/">Providence</a>.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Figure Skating – Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics: Day 1

The Olympics Controversy That’s Suddenly About America Itself

American figure skater Amber Glenn has faced almost as much criticism from social media as she has from the Olympic judges in the past week — and she has a few choice words for her haters.
Glenn, an outspoken LGBT activist, is a 26-year-old from Texas representing Team USA at the Winter Games in her first Olympic appearance.
In a TikTok post Tuesday, Glenn shared photos with fellow U.S. figure skater Alysa Liu and the caption, &#8220;They hate to see two woke b*tches winning,&#8221; referencing the gold medal won by America in the team event on Sunday, <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2026/02/08/amber-glenn-team-event-2026-winter-olympics/88578695007/">despite</a> the fact that it was her third-place free skate routine that almost jeopardized the title.
&#8220;If ‘Woke’ means people who use their platforms to advocate for marginalized communities in the country that they are actively representing …&#8230;. Then yeah sure?&#8221; she wrote.
The post comes after online backlash over comments Glenn made in a pre-Olympics press conference last week, where she said the queer community is having a “hard time” under the Trump administration, leaving them to “fight for [their] human rights.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
U.S. Olympic figure skater Amber Glenn goes overseas and smears America, melting down over President Trump.
These people do not deserve to be on the team. 
<a href="https://t.co/tMPvxLbSX2">pic.twitter.com/tMPvxLbSX2</a>
— Jack (@jackunheard) <a href="https://twitter.com/jackunheard/status/2020185440612159964?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 7, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;I hope I can use my platform and my voice throughout these games to try and encourage people to stay strong in these hard times,” she said, adding that she was not going to be quiet about it.
According to Glenn, a &#8220;scary amount of hate&#8221; trailed her in a now-expired Instagram <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/sports/american-olympic-medalist-fires-direct-message-critics-they-hate-see-two-woke-b-es-winning">story</a>: “When I chose to utilize one of the amazing things about the United States of America (Freedom of speech) to convey how I feel as an athlete competing for Team USA in a troubling time for many Americans, I am now receiving a scary amount of hate/threats for simply using my voice WHEN ASKED about how I feel.”
She said the backlash was &#8220;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7031453/2026/02/08/amber-glenn-figure-skating-olympics-politics-lgbtq-donald-trump/">outlandish</a>&#8221; and <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/sports/american-olympian-taking-social-media-breather-over-hate-after-trump-criticism">announced</a> she was taking a break from social media. &#8220;I did anticipate this but I am disappointed by it. I will be limiting my time on social media for my own wellbeing for now but I will never stop using my voice for what I believe in.&#8221;
But the controversy didn&#8217;t stop there. On Sunday night, Canadian artist Seb McKinnon took to <a href="https://x.com/SebMcKinnon/status/2020604630657302841?s=20">X</a> after hearing his music playing without his permission in the background of Glenn&#8217;s free skate routine for the team event, adding to her already heated online presence. The issue now seems to be <a href="https://x.com/SebMcKinnon/status/2021206847059853361">resolved</a>.

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