0:02 Well, this is very exciting. This was
0:03 one of the greatest moments in the
0:06 history of US sports. I wouldn't say
0:08 maybe for other countries that weren't
0:11 so thrilled, but for US sports and uh we
0:13 have a very exciting team of champions
0:16 standing behind me. Uh Mr. Attorney,
0:18 could you read what we're doing right
0:19 now and get it done?
0:22 >> This is HR452, the Miracle on Ice Bill.
0:23 The United States Congress has
0:26 authorized three medals to be struck
0:28 commemorating the historic victory of
0:30 the United States uh men's hockey team
0:32 in 1980 at the Lake Placid Olympics
0:34 where they obviously defeated the
0:36 Russians in the the Soviet Union, excuse
0:37 me, in the famous Miracle on ice hockey
0:40 game. Uh this will serve as a fitting
0:41 commemoration of that incredible
0:44 achievement uh and will hopefully uh be
0:46 a lasting memorial of that achievement
0:49 going forward. This was an amazing
0:52 event. Pretty big. Uh I mean I don't
0:54 know there were some other upsets in the
0:55 world. I haven't noticed them getting
0:59 any of these.
1:01 That's great. We don't use auto pens here.
1:13 Okay. Wait a minute. There you go. Take care.
1:13 care.
1:25 So great, right?
1:27 >> Most of these people are too young to
1:29 remember that.
1:32 No sports fans know it.
1:34 Thank you very much. It's great honor to
1:36 have the media, too. We're delighted to
1:38 be joined today by true legends of
1:40 American sports history, the heroes for
1:43 the entire nation, the 1980 US Olympic
1:47 ice hockey team. Uh, this was one of the
1:49 biggest moments that I've ever seen in
1:51 sports and I like sports. These are the
1:53 men who gave us one of the most sword
1:55 athletic wins of all time. It's called
1:57 the miracle on ice and I guess that's
1:59 what it was.
2:03 We're with us today by players like Jim
2:08 Greg, Steve Janisk, Bill Baker, Dave
2:12 Christian, Ken Marorrow, Jack O'allahan,
2:18 Mike Ramsey, Neil Bratton, Mike Uri,
2:21 Rob Mlanahan,
2:23 Buzz Schneider,
2:25 Dave Silk,
2:28 Phil Vota,
2:30 and numerous others. And what I'd love
2:32 to you do, you know, when you have all
2:36 of these media people, it's a nice slow
2:37 afternoon. Nothing's too slow around
2:40 here. I think we just did a a very good
2:42 job with Thailand and Cambodia. We had
2:44 them stopped and I've been saying I
2:46 stopped eight wars, but they started
2:48 shooting at each other two days ago. It
2:50 wasn't good. And we got it, I think,
2:53 straightened out today. So, Thailand and
2:55 Cambodia is in good shape. So, we get a
2:57 lot done. Eight wars. Nobody's ever
2:59 stopped eight wars. We have one more to
3:02 go. The easiest one I thought would be a
3:04 country that you're somewhat familiar
3:09 with, Russia and uh Ukraine, but we're a
3:10 lot of progress is being made even
3:12 there. Could I ask you to just say your
3:13 name and if you have anything to say,
3:15 you could say that also and then we'll
3:17 get on with reading some of the stats.
3:19 >> Yeah, my name is Ryan Sudter. I'm here
3:21 representing my dad, Bob, who passed
3:24 away. Um, it's a true honor for me to be
3:26 a part of this and I thank these guys
3:28 for allowing me to be a part of their
3:32 team and thank you for having this and
3:33 hosting this.
3:35 >> Your father was some player,
3:38 >> incredible player. Do you uh did you
3:39 ever play ice hockey?
3:40 >> I did. Yeah.
3:42 >> So, let me ask you,
3:45 >> how good was he compared to his father?
3:47 Don't ask. Don't answer.
3:50 >> Mr. President, Ryan just played 21 years
3:53 in the NHL. He played 1500 games in
3:56 >> uh pretty comfortable though, right?
3:57 >> Better. You think better? >> Yes.
3:58 >> Yes.
4:01 >> You can just Dad was tough.
4:02 >> I heard you might be
4:03 >> Dad was tougher. You're right.
4:06 >> Dad was tougher.
4:08 >> But you got good genetics. You had a
4:09 great How long did you play?
4:11 >> I played 21 years.
4:12 >> Wow. Well, you look pretty good for a
4:15 guy played 21 years.
4:17 Congratulations. And great father.
4:17 >> Thank you.
4:19 >> Great father.
4:22 >> Please. Um, I'm Tia Lewis and I'm here
4:24 representing my dad, Mark Pavlich. Um,
4:29 he I'm so honored to be here. Um, I just
4:31 I I'm at a loss for words to be honest.
4:34 Like, I can't believe this is real. I
4:36 want to say to you, President Trump from
4:39 I know so many people from Duth,
4:42 Minnesota that love you and I just Yes.
4:44 Yeah. You're Thank you for having us
4:45 here. So, yeah.
4:47 >> And you had a great father.
4:49 >> Thank you so much. a great great player. >> So,
4:50 >> So,
4:57 >> Thank you very much. Thank you for being
4:58 here. Please go ahead.
5:00 >> I'm Ken Marorrow. Um,
5:02 >> an honor to meet you, Mr. President.
5:05 >> What a great win for our country and uh
5:06 if people don't remember, that's where
5:10 the USA Chance started in Lake Placid.
5:11 >> That's right. >> Yeah.
5:11 >> Yeah. >> Yeah.
5:12 >> Yeah.
5:15 >> I tried to take credit for that.
5:16 >> You had you had to bring that up, didn't
5:19 you? Well, that's the end of that.
5:21 That's all right. Thank you very much.
5:24 >> Hi, I'm Jim Craig and uh it's an honor
5:26 to be here. I'm so proud of all my
5:28 teammates and what we able to accomplish
5:30 for our country and when you get a
5:31 chance to represent your country whether
5:34 it's in the military or a sport and you
5:36 do something really special what my team
5:38 did and then be recognized many years
5:41 later. So, Mr. President, I want to
5:42 thank you for your courage that you show
5:44 the country every single day.
5:46 >> Thank you. and for uh making our country
5:47 safe again.
5:49 >> Thank you. Yeah, we we knew that. I
5:51 appreciate that very much. I didn't know
6:01 >> Thank you for being here. He's doing a
6:03 great job.
6:04 >> Thank you, very much.
6:06 >> Uh Bud Schneider. Uh Mr. President,
6:08 thanks for having us here. Thanks,
6:09 Congressman Ster for writing legislation
6:12 with Luis Sm. Uh it's a privilege to be
6:15 here and uh we accomplished a wonderful
6:18 thing and I will say that uh I got 19
6:19 beautiful people I did it with. It was
6:21 awesome. All good solid people. Thank
6:22 you. Thanks again.
6:40 >> It's an amazing office. It's
6:41 >> it's unbelievable. Everybody that comes
6:43 here, they get the biggest people in the
6:44 world. They come into this place and
6:47 they go, "Wow, it's the Oval Office.
6:50 Most most important office anywhere in
6:51 the world. Not even close." Thank you
6:54 very much, Mr. President. Mike Rouion.
6:57 Uh on behalf of the team, we have a replica
6:58 replica
6:59 >> hat that we wore at the opening
7:02 ceremonies uh in Lake Placid. We'd like
7:05 you to have that. And more importantly,
7:07 uh, I don't think words can explain how
7:10 proud we are of what you've done for our team.
7:10 team.
7:11 >> Thank you.
7:12 >> Thank you very much.
7:16 >> Let's see. What do I do with that strap?
7:28 You remember a certain governor in
7:30 Massachusetts when they put that helmet
7:33 on? That was not good. practice.
7:34 practice.
7:35 >> Michael did practice. >> Yep.
7:36 >> Yep.
7:37 >> They put that helmet on. That was the
7:43 >> But the honor that you bestowed upon our
7:44 team something that's incredible.
7:45 >> Thank you very much.
7:46 >> Well, I feel it.
7:47 >> Thank you,
7:48 >> Mr. President. Hello, I'm Jack O'
7:51 Callahan from Charlesttown, Mass.
7:53 >> And I grew up on the battlefield of
7:54 where the Battle of Bunker Hill was
7:56 fought and that's where it all started.
7:58 and uh thank you so much for having us
8:00 here when we're a bunch of proud
8:02 Americans and uh we're thrilled to be in
8:03 your presence, sir.
8:04 >> Thank you very much. I'm thrilled to be
8:08 with you guys, winners, champions.
8:10 >> Mr. President, my name is Dave Silk and
8:12 like Jack said, I'm a proud American.
8:14 Thank you for having us here and thank
8:16 you to all that put this on for us. I'm
8:17 honored to be here.
8:19 >> Thank you, folks. It's really nice.
8:20 Thank you,
8:22 >> Mr. President. Joe Baker. I'm from
8:23 Minnesota. I know that right now that
8:27 doesn't ring very well.
8:29 Hopefully we can get that turned around.
8:31 >> Do we have Somalians in the any
8:40 >> The pride we felt in 1980 is incredible
8:42 and we are starting to feel that again
8:43 thanks to your leadership. Thank you
8:44 very much.
8:45 >> Well, you know, Minnesota is a great
8:47 place and this is a great leader right
8:49 here for Minnesota. He loves it. Not
8:51 happy with what's going on up there and
8:53 I I think you'll take care of that
8:54 situation. We're all with you. with your help.
8:55 help.
8:57 >> No, no, you have my help. What's
8:59 happening up there is is a disgrace.
9:01 It's a disgrace. Billions of dollars
9:03 have been stolen. Billions sent back to
9:06 Somalia. And uh Tom can solve that
9:08 problem better than anybody. And you
9:09 have the go-ahad, right?
9:10 >> Yes, sir.
9:11 >> Thank you very much, sir. And thank you.
9:13 What do you think of this team?
9:15 >> This is the team that set the whole tone
9:18 for this country back in 1980. It was
9:20 the beginning of the great comeback,
9:23 which by the way, Donald J. Trump was
9:24 the next beginning of the great
9:26 comeback. So, it's perfect that it's
9:29 both you and this uh great team from 1980.
9:29 1980.
9:31 >> Thank you, Tom. You're doing a fantastic
9:32 job. Really a great leader. We
9:36 appreciate it. A friend and Jackie is a
9:37 great spouse.
9:40 >> Remember, that's
9:41 true. That's what I heard.
9:43 >> And Elise, everybody knows Elise. She's
9:46 doing phenomenally well. A really
9:47 tremendous congresswoman. And she's
9:50 running for a little position called
9:53 Governor of New York. and she's got a
9:55 hell of a shot at it. That's all I can
9:58 see. I see polls that look very good and
10:01 we uh we could use you in New York.
10:03 She's got a little competition and with
10:06 a very good Republican, but uh she's a
10:09 great Republican. So, we'll see what
10:11 happens. But at least it's respected by
10:12 everybody and we appreciate it. Thank you.
10:13 you.
10:14 >> Thank you so much, Mr. President. And as
10:16 the representative for Lake Placid, this
10:18 is so meaningful to my constituents and
10:20 we are home of the Miracle on Ice and
10:21 it's wonderful to be here with these
10:24 teammates who just stood so proudly for
10:25 Team USA.
10:27 >> Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. >> Please.
10:28 >> Please.
10:30 >> Uh my name is Dan Brooks. Uh I am the
10:33 son of Coach Brooks. Um it's an honor to
10:36 be here, Mr. President. Uh my dad uh he
10:38 believed uh he believed in the American
10:40 hockey player. Uh he believed in his
10:43 country. He loved this team. He loved
10:45 his country. I wish he was here, but
10:47 it's an honor for me to represent him.
10:48 So, thank you for having me.
10:49 >> Well, your father was a great guy. I
10:52 knew him a little bit. And uh he was an
10:54 amazing coach. What he did was just incredible.
10:55 incredible.
10:56 >> He was tough, but fair.
10:59 >> He was tough. Was he tough on you? Yeah.
11:01 >> I love him for 20 years,
11:03 >> but but good. I always say my father was
11:05 tough, too. My father was tough, but good,
11:06 good,
11:08 >> right? They were good people. Thank you.
11:09 >> It was an honor to be his son.
11:11 >> Thank you very much. He's he'd be very
11:12 proud of you right now.
11:15 >> Robert Conahan from Minnesota. Uh I'm
11:17 just echoing everybody else's words.
11:19 It's an honor to be here
11:21 >> and it's an honor to be a teammate of
11:23 this great team. We had
11:25 >> it's all about we and we're great teammates.
11:25 teammates. >> Yeah.
11:26 >> Yeah.
11:29 >> That was a per really a perfect case of it.
11:29 it. >> Yep.
11:29 >> Yep.
11:33 >> That team was a perfect case. Please um
11:35 I'm honored to be here. I'm representing
11:39 my brother Mark who died in 2024. I know
11:41 he's looking down with a big smile on
11:42 his face.
11:43 >> Great player.
11:46 >> Yeah. And I'm sure I am honored and I
11:48 know he would be too.
11:49 >> Thank you very much.
11:51 >> Thank you,
11:54 >> Mr. Trump. Dave Christian from Warwood,
11:58 Minnesota, Hockey Town, USA.
12:00 >> Is it still?
12:00 >> Is it?
12:03 >> It's It still is. But it's a privilege
12:05 and an honor to be here with the
12:07 greatest teammates anyone could have.
12:10 Thank you, Michael. Great honor. Great job,
12:10 job,
12:12 >> Mr. President. Mike Ramsey. I'm also
12:15 from Minnesota and uh Minneapolis. It's
12:18 not Hockey Town, Minnesota.
12:19 It's an honor to be here with my
12:22 teammates and you. Uh this is awesome.
12:22 >> That's great.
12:23 >> Thank you.
12:24 >> Great to have you. Thank you very much,
12:27 >> Mr. President. Steve Januzac, also from
12:29 Minnesota, White Bear Lake, Minnesota.
12:31 It's not as big as it sounds.
12:34 Uh I backed up Jimmy Craig and want to
12:36 thank all you guys for the job that you
12:39 did. Uh pleasure to be a part of this
12:41 team. Luckiest guy on this team. >> Yeah.
12:42 >> Yeah. >> Um
12:42 >> Um
12:45 >> Jimmy Craig was uh pretty good, right?
12:48 >> He knew goending and he did an awesome job.
12:48 job.
12:50 >> Yeah, pretty good.
12:50 >> It's great.
12:52 >> Thank you very much.
12:53 >> Thank you.
13:01 >> What do you think, Phil?
13:04 I'm speechless of course but uh I'm Phil
13:06 Bakota originally from Duth Minnesota
13:10 and uh certainly like all the other
13:13 gentlemen here uh are we're having a
13:15 wonderful wonderful day and just seeing
13:18 the history of Washington DC and you
13:20 know the invitation and the and the
13:24 award is uh beyond beyond what I could imagine.
13:25 imagine.
13:27 >> Well, it's an honor and so many people
13:29 from Minnesota.
13:32 Good hockey. Good hockey blood, huh?
13:32 >> Oh, yeah.
13:34 >> Yeah. So many people, a lot of lot of
13:37 the team. Congratulations. And
13:39 Minnesota's going to be back, right? >> Better.
13:39 >> Better.
13:43 >> Going to be back. Going to be back.
13:45 You got a little bad governor up there.
13:47 Couple little problems, but it's going
13:50 to be back. And unbelievable people in
13:53 Minnesota. 45 years ago, this tremendous
13:55 group of collegiate players and amateurs
13:58 faced overwhelming odds against the
14:00 Soviet Union in Lake Placid Winter
14:02 Olympics. They said it was the greatest
14:05 team ever put together, the Soviet team.
14:06 They weren't saying that about you, but
14:09 you were damn good. They were saying
14:11 that team was unbeatable. The same month
14:14 the USSR's hockey team had crushed our
14:17 squad. They did a I guess an exhibition
14:19 game of some kind and it was not pretty.
14:24 10 to three. And uh people were not even
14:26 looking forward to this game, fellas. I
14:28 hate to tell you, but they liked it.
14:31 That last 10 minutes were not fun. The
14:33 Soviets had not lost an Olympic games
14:37 since 1968, and they were coming off a
14:40 four straight gold record. Gold medals
14:43 in ' 64. They won the gold 68, 72, and
14:45 76. Other than that, they weren't that
14:48 good, but they were great. And this was
14:49 supposed to be the best team that they
14:52 ever had. So it wasn't uh looking too
14:56 sharp for our great champions behind me.
14:57 As one American sports writer put it at
14:59 the time, the whole world expected the
15:03 Soviets to win. Quote, "Unless the ice
15:05 melts." So that wasn't a very good
15:08 statement, but then it began. Despite
15:11 the long odds, the team USA blazed
15:13 through the group stage, meaning other
15:15 countries went through them pretty
15:17 easily, advancing to a long awaited
15:20 rematch against the USSR.
15:23 Three times we went down by a goal. For
15:24 most of the game, they were down by a
15:27 goal. Three times. And then remarkable
15:30 players put America back on top where we
15:34 always wanted to be. Buzz Schneider, he
15:37 scored the opening goal and a slap shot
15:46 >> That's a big How the hell did that
15:49 happen? Was there a goal? I I thought
15:50 they had a good goalie.
15:51 >> They did have a good goalie. The pass
15:52 came across the ice. I caught it going
15:54 the other way.
15:55 >> Just happened, right?
15:58 >> America. They call it
16:01 >> That's a long one. How often does a 50ft
16:04 shot go in? Not do much. All right.
16:06 >> That one. You have a little extra power.
16:06 You're strong.
16:09 >> You were a strong guy. Oh, that's
16:11 something. That puck was it? We have a
16:14 puck here. Does this mean anything or is
16:16 this something they just gave us?
16:18 >> I gave the FCI hockey pucks.
16:20 >> Oh, that's good.
16:22 That's I'll put it here on top of piece
16:25 of gold.
16:28 In the second period, Jim Craig withtood
16:30 a barrage of shots on goal and kept the
16:34 dream alive. That's the guy, right? And
16:36 then after a goal from team captain Mike
16:39 Yuzioni, who's a fantastic guy who know
16:41 from outside of hockey would play golf.
16:43 We were in a golf team together and we
16:45 happened to win. Right. We did sir. We won.
16:45 won.
16:46 >> Yes, we did.
16:49 >> I liked my partner very much.
16:51 >> But he put us up four to three midway
16:53 through the third. These fighters held
16:55 on to the longest 10 minutes of their
16:58 lives. They call it the longest, most
17:01 horrendous, scariest 10 minutes. Is that
17:02 true? I mean, absolutely.
17:03 >> You couldn't believe that you were
17:05 there, right?
17:06 >> And they're leading by one and they got
17:10 10 minutes to just please. Did anybody
17:13 pray? Were you praying everything?
17:15 >> I don't know. Did you have time to pray?
17:16 >> You just had to go out and play.
17:18 >> They're religious guys, but they didn't
17:19 have a lot of time to pray. They were out.
17:21 out.
17:23 to win one of the greatest comebacks in
17:26 sports history really was amazing.
17:29 The observers in the arena noted it was
17:32 the first time in his life that he heard
17:34 the chant USA, USA, USA, which I don't
17:36 like hearing because I tell people that
17:41 that had to do with Trump in 2016
17:43 slightly slightly after your big win,
17:45 but no longer. That's the end of that,
17:47 Brad. I can't use that one anymore. But
17:50 I do remember them doing that. Exactly.
17:52 For a long time, they were doing that.
17:54 This team united us and they inspired
17:56 us. The United States was like brought
17:58 to a level that of sports that they've
18:00 never seen and they brought us Olympic
18:03 glory that we celebrate to this day.
18:05 Nobody thought it was possible. It
18:06 really shows that, you know, anything's
18:08 possible. Nobody thought that one was
18:11 possible. But I want to congratulate you
18:13 all. And now I'd like to invite Mike to
18:15 say a few words. And then Congressman
18:17 Sterber who introduced and then we're
18:20 going to speak uh from a couple of other
18:22 people. And I have to tell you, our
18:26 leader, I have to say that uh Emmer is a
18:28 very special leader and I want you to
18:31 maybe wrap it up and uh say something on
18:32 behalf of your great state in
18:34 particular, the country, but your great
18:35 state in particular. Okay.
18:37 >> So, let's go. Mike,
18:39 >> just again, Mr. President, to reiterate
18:41 what we've all talked about, this is an
18:42 absolutely credible honor. I've said
18:45 this before. When you put a USA jersey
18:46 on, uh you're playing for your country.
18:48 You're not playing for your state, your
18:50 town, or your city. And what an honor it
18:52 was for us to put that jersey on and
18:54 accomplish what we accomplished. Um I've
18:55 always said the gold medal is something
18:57 that's incredible, but this is the
18:59 frosting on the cake. Uh to receive an
19:02 award like this, an honor like this. Uh
19:04 maybe that's the this is it, guys. I
19:05 don't think any I don't think there's
19:07 anything else we can get.
19:09 >> But this is just incredible.
19:10 >> There's nothing else.
19:12 >> This is it. And and thank you for for
19:13 making this happen.
19:14 >> Great. Thank you, man.
19:19 Yeah, right.
19:22 >> Mr. President, um thank you for uh
19:24 signing this piece of legislation. Uh I
19:27 first want to say uh on behalf of uh of
19:29 uh Congress, I want to thank uh Lee
19:31 Stefanic and Tom Emmery for being
19:33 co-sponsors of this piece of
19:36 legislation. I also want to thank my
19:39 staff uh Alli Esau in my office did a
19:42 tremendous job getting this uh uh you
19:44 know to be able to pass the House and
19:46 the Senate. I want to thank my staff and
19:49 uh Mr. president. Uh it was uh 45 years
19:52 ago, Friday, fe February 22nd, 1980,
19:54 that the game of hockey changed. Uh it
19:56 was a 5:00 p.m. game. It was taped
19:58 delayed. Those of us uh that were hockey
20:00 players back then, this was a game
20:03 changer. We couldn't find that USA
20:06 jersey anywhere. Uh we it was sold out
20:09 wherever it was. And so I'm I'm I'm very
20:12 proud to have led this. And I would be
20:15 remiss if I didn't uh uh introduce uh my
20:18 younger brother Rob who was uh the the
20:20 he was a gold medal coach for the 2018
20:22 women's Olympic uh gold medal team in
20:24 Pyongqeng and Robbiey's right over
20:26 there. Hi Rob.
20:28 >> So Mr. President, I will just say that
20:33 uh I'm in awe of these u hockey heroes
20:35 and as we as we move forward they
20:38 changed the game of hockey. Um it was a
20:41 powerful dominant uh performance that
20:43 this country needed. They beat the
20:46 powerhouse Soviets and as you know
20:49 you're continuing to do that today. And
20:50 uh this was a great start of it. And and
20:53 for me I'm very uh just privileged and
20:56 proud to stand with these Olympic heroes
20:58 that literally changed a nation and gave
21:01 us the strength that we needed uh at the
21:04 time our nation needed it. and to know
21:07 these men here. They're they're humble.
21:09 They're they're the humility is is uh
21:11 through the roof. And I just want to
21:12 thank you for signing this. This means a
21:15 lot to me personally, but it means more
21:16 to the team. When I talked to him this
21:19 afternoon, it was this was a as as Mike
21:21 just said, it's the cherry on top of
21:23 what they did for this country. And
21:24 thank you for signing it and I
21:25 appreciate it.
21:27 >> Well, we love it. And he's a really
21:30 great hockey player, too. So, let me ask
21:32 you a question. Was your brother uh in
21:34 this category of hockey play or slightly less?
21:35 less?
21:39 >> You want to answer that?
21:41 >> He He was smart. He was better than I He
21:42 was better than me. Robbie was a a
21:44 goalender in the National Hockey League
21:44 as well. So,
21:46 >> wow, that's pretty good. That's much
21:47 better than me.
21:48 >> That's a lot of good genetics in this
21:50 whole thing. But you were a hell of a
21:50 player, too.
21:51 >> Thank you, Mr. President.
21:53 >> Thank you,
21:55 >> so we're gonna One, Mr. President, we
21:56 would like to do one more thing. >> Sure.
21:57 >> Sure.
21:59 >> Uh take a photo with our hats off.
22:08 >> Okay,
22:10 >> straighten it out.
22:12 >> Take a good one. You have Dan.
22:14 >> Let's go, Dan. Get with it. Get with it, Dan.
22:15 Dan.
22:19 >> Oh, there we go.
22:20 >> Good photography. You got her a little
22:30 >> It's a good photo. Good idea.
22:45 >> So, we're going to finish up with Tom
22:49 Emmer, and he's been just a fantastic uh
22:51 a fantastic congressman, leader, person
22:53 from Minnesota. Loves that state. Boy,
22:54 do you love that state, and they love
22:56 you equally as much, please.
22:58 >> Thank you, Mr. President. First, I got
23:00 to thank Pete Stalber as he's talking
23:03 about uh humility. Uh Pete Stalber
23:06 actually uh was in the the White House
23:09 uh as a national championship captain of
23:11 a national championship hockey team back
23:13 in the 1980s.
23:15 >> This is uh this runs in the blood in
23:18 Minnesota. This runs in our blood in
23:20 Minnesota, but it's not about Minnesota.
23:22 Even though I will point out most of the
23:24 guys are from Minnesota, but that's not
23:26 the point. It doesn't matter if it's
23:29 Massachusetts, Minnesota, Michigan,
23:32 Wisconsin, wherever players came from
23:34 back then, they were all Americans.
23:35 That's what mattered. And they were an
23:37 inspiration. And you know what it means
23:39 to my state? It shows us that no matter
23:43 how bad it gets, there's always a way to
23:44 succeed if you're willing to try. And I
23:46 think Mike Rousion said it earlier. If
23:48 you think you're going to lose, you're
23:49 probably not going to win,
23:50 >> right? If you think you're going to
23:52 compete and you're going to give it
23:53 everything you've got, these men who are
23:55 standing here and their colleagues who
23:57 are not here, God bless them, those who
23:59 couldn't be here and those who uh have
24:01 departed, they reached the ultimate
24:03 peak. And when they did it, as Pete
24:06 pointed out, they lifted an entire
24:08 country out of the ditch and set us off
24:11 to an amazing
24:13 several decades that followed. And it's
24:17 not much unlike uh the uh 47th president
24:18 of the United States. So, I think it's
24:21 entirely appropriate that uh you're
24:23 doing this for these men. You're really
24:26 doing it for the country. And God bless
24:27 you because Minnesota, I think, is going
24:29 to experience a comeback because
24:31 >> No, they're going to do it. Minnesota's
24:32 going to come back. No, I'm just so I'm
24:34 so impressed that so many of these
24:35 champions come from Minnesota. It's
24:38 amazing. It's a great place. Thank you
24:38 very much.
24:41 >> We engineered it.
24:44 >> The best player for
24:45 >> it starts again.
24:47 >> Well, thank you very much. Any questions
24:48 for the president?
24:50 >> Let's go to the players first if we could.
24:50 could.
24:52 >> Thank you, Mr. President. First of all,
24:53 it's a great honor to be in the room
24:56 with all of you. I remember this game
24:58 and it made had a huge impact on me.
25:01 You're heroes of mine and it's really an
25:04 honor to be in this room. Mike Rouion, I
25:06 have to ask you a question. What did it
25:08 mean? I realize it was the semifinal
25:11 game, but what did it mean to you at the
25:13 time to beat the Soviets? To beat the
25:15 Soviet Union? Well, at the time it gave
25:17 us an opportunity to play for a gold
25:19 medal. Um, you know, people always talk
25:20 about the Soviet game and the Soviet
25:21 game, and I know how important the
25:23 Soviet game was from a political
25:24 standpoint, we didn't know it at the
25:26 time, we knew it after. But if we don't
25:28 beat Finland, we're not having this
25:31 conversation today. We're not here. As
25:33 great as the Soviet victory was, and it
25:35 was an incredible victory, but if we
25:37 lose to Finland, it would have been God,
25:39 if you only could have beat
25:41 >> uh 4 to2. We were losing two to one
25:43 going into the third period.
25:45 >> That would have been a dam. So, we're
25:47 not having this conversation. You are
25:49 not inviting us to the White House. We
25:50 are not receiving this honor if we don't
25:53 beat Finland. So, I think it it speaks
25:55 volumes of the team and the team that I
25:57 played on to come back after such a
25:59 great victory. We were ready to play
26:01 Finland on Sunday and and I think again
26:03 a tribute to the team and the type of
26:06 players that we had. So, years later, 45
26:07 years later, we realized how important
26:09 that victory was against the Soviets.
26:11 But I think a lot of us take great pride
26:13 in knowing that we closed the deal by
26:15 being if you didn't win that final game.
26:16 We're not here.
26:16 >> Nobody would.
26:18 >> We wouldn't have played here. I would
26:20 not have invited you.
26:22 >> I would have seen gold medals.
26:23 >> Yeah. What happened to Finland?
26:34 >> But you did. But he did win. What's the
26:38 lesson for Ukraine from this win from 45
26:42 years ago when you've defeated
26:45 Russian team against all odds?
26:47 >> Well, it's a similar situation, isn't
26:49 it? Let's see what happens. We're
26:51 working on seeing if we can make a deal
26:53 right now. We're going to we're going to
26:54 see. We'll soon know. I guess we're
26:56 going to we're going to see a lot of death.
26:58 death.
27:01 Last month, fellas, 25,000 soldiers were
27:04 killed in Ukraine and Russia. 45,000.
27:05 Can you imagine that?
27:08 >> We should send our team
27:10 for my resume, you know, if if I could.
27:13 Um, you guys were a team of amateurs.
27:15 What do you think about the NIL, the
27:16 deals that are being made with with
27:19 players and and they're hopping around
27:20 sports. What do you think about get your
27:22 thoughts on that? My thoughts are I
27:24 don't like it. Um, I don't like the nil.
27:27 I don't like the the portal, but that's
27:29 the state of college sports today. Um,
27:31 and we have no control over that. I
27:32 don't like it. And a lot of people that
27:35 I spoke to don't like it either, but we
27:36 we we have no say.
27:38 >> Well, I I think we maybe do have a say.
27:40 I think that it's a disaster for college
27:42 sports. I think it's a disaster for the
27:44 Olympics because, you know, we're losing
27:47 a lot of teams. The colleges are cutting
27:50 a lot of their they would call them sort
27:52 of the lesser sports and they're losing
27:55 them like at numbers nobody can believe.
27:57 And they were really training grounds.
27:59 Beautiful training grounds. Hardworking,
28:01 wonderful young people. They were
28:03 training grounds for the Olympics and a
28:05 lot of these sports that were training
28:07 so well would win gold medals because of
28:09 it. Uh those sports don't exist because
28:10 they're putting all their money into
28:12 football. And by the way, they're
28:13 putting too much money into into
28:16 football because colleges don't make
28:18 even the most successful universities
28:20 don't make that much money. And you
28:22 can't pay a quarterback $14 million to
28:26 come out of uh high school. They don't
28:27 even know he's going to be a very good
28:28 player. I mean, they've tried a couple
28:32 of times. 14 and 12 million
28:34 and a couple of deals like that and the
28:36 most successful colleges are losing
28:40 money and I think the NIL is a disaster
28:43 for sports. It's horrible for the
28:46 Olympics and it's I think it's actually
28:47 horrible for the players and you're
28:50 losing all of these great sports.
28:52 They're not college football. Even
28:54 basketball is being affected. Basketball
28:56 second, but even basketball is being
28:58 affected. They're putting all of their
29:01 money in and I know something about it.
29:03 They they will not be able to stop.
29:04 You're going to have a college
29:06 president. I'm telling you, sir, if we
29:08 give a guard $7 million, we're going to
29:10 win the national championship. And
29:11 they'll give them seven and they won't
29:14 win it. And even if they do win it,
29:16 colleges cannot afford to be paying the
29:18 kind of salaries that you're hearing
29:21 about. And frankly, if you didn't have a
29:23 very strong salary cap in in sports, and
29:26 even then in professional sports, it
29:28 would they'd all be out of business.
29:30 Everyone, you're going to have these
29:33 colleges wipe themselves out. And
29:34 something ought to be done. And I'm
29:36 willing to put the federal government
29:38 behind it. But if it's not done fast,
29:39 you're going to wipe out colleges.
29:41 They're going to get wiped out,
29:43 including ones that do well in football.
29:45 They can't pay 12 million, 14 million,
29:49 10 million, six million for players.
29:51 They won't be able to stop. There'll
29:53 always be that one player. They only
29:54 have that player. They're going to win
29:56 the national championship. And they'll
29:58 have a hundred colleges thinking the
30:00 same thing. Colleges cannot afford to
30:03 play this game. And it's a very bad
30:05 thing that's happening.
30:07 >> You talked about the Soviet Union. I
30:08 also want to ask about another country
30:09 that you're targeting, which of course
30:12 is Venezuela. Do you intend on seizing
30:15 more oil assets from Venezuela?
30:17 >> I would tell you that. I mean, would it
30:18 wouldn't be very smart for me to tell
30:20 you that. You know, we're supposed to be
30:22 a little bit secretive. You're a you're
30:24 a very big- time reporter, and I don't
30:26 think I want to tell a big time reporter
30:29 or a small time reporter that, but uh we are
30:30 are
30:32 knocking out drugs at levels that
30:34 nobody's ever seen before. We knocked
30:38 out 96% of the drugs coming in by water.
30:41 And uh nobody can figure out who the 4%.
30:43 I wouldn't want to be the 4% either, but
30:46 96% of the drugs coming in by water.
30:49 Every one of those boats you see get
30:52 shot down. You just saved 25,000
30:55 American lives. But we knocked out 96%
30:57 of the drugs coming in by water. And now
30:59 we're starting by land. And by land is a
31:01 lot easier. And that's going to start
31:03 happening. And we're not going to have
31:05 people destroying our youth, destroying
31:07 our families. Forget about youth,
31:10 everybody. You ever see a family with
31:13 the fentinol or or cocaine. Colombia has
31:15 at least three cocaine factories. That's
31:17 a different country. We're not happy
31:19 about it. But we're stopping it. And
31:21 we've stopped it now on water. You don't
31:23 even find boats on water. You don't even
31:25 see fishing boats on water. You want to
31:28 go fishing in that area?
31:29 >> Does anybody want to go fishing in that area?
31:31 area?
31:35 So, so I just want to say this. Uh, we
31:37 have now a strong border. A year and a
31:38 half ago, we had millions of people
31:40 pouring through. Now, we have nobody
31:42 coming in through our border. And we
31:44 have a strong country. We have a country
31:45 that's respecting it. We're going to
31:47 keep it that way. And we're not going to
31:50 let people kill 300,000 people a year
31:51 with drugs. >> Mr.
31:53 >> Mr.
31:55 One more followup question that you've
31:56 been pointing out talking about in
31:58 Minnesota specifically. There have been
32:00 some reports resurfacing and circulating
32:02 even by own your own administration
32:05 alleging Ian Omar's marriage to her
32:07 brother and this would be a fraudulent
32:09 situation if there in fact is found to
32:11 be fraud in a situation like that. Would
32:12 you like to see her denaturalized or
32:14 others who have similarly committed?
32:16 >> Well, I think she's very bad for our
32:18 country. All she does is complain,
32:20 complain, complain. She comes out of a
32:22 country where they have no government,
32:24 they have no military, they have no
32:26 police, they got no nothing, they don't
32:29 have a country and uh they run around
32:30 killing each other and then she comes
32:33 over here. She tells the United States
32:35 of America how it should be run. We
32:37 don't want to hear from her. I don't
32:39 want to hear from her. I don't want to
32:40 speak for Emma, but I don't think Emma
32:42 particularly wants to hear. But don't
32:43 say it because I don't want to get you
32:45 in trouble. Okay? Just be nice and easy.
32:47 All right? I'll do it for you, bud. That
32:50 part I'll do. But I just want to say
32:51 that Mr. President, there's nothing
32:54 worse than a person that comes in and
32:57 does nothing but and comes from a
32:59 place where she shouldn't be telling us
33:02 what to do. She shouldn't be telling us
33:04 and everybody agrees with me. And what's
33:07 happening in Minnesota with Somalia
33:09 where billions of dollars is being
33:12 stolen, right? Like like candy from a
33:14 baby. We're not going to let that go on.
33:16 And it's too great a state to have that
33:18 happening. And guys like Tom Emmer and
33:22 others Pete Sber guys like them they're
33:23 going to stop it and they're going to be
33:26 given the authority to stop it
33:27 >> because this country is not going to put
33:30 up with it.
33:32 You talked about land strikes happening
33:34 soon. Is there anything at this point
33:36 that can prevent that? And is the
33:38 objective if you make that decision?
33:40 >> I don't want to say that but it's not
33:43 only land strikes on Venezuela. It's
33:46 land strikes on horrible people that are
33:48 bringing in drugs and killing our
33:51 people. You know, if we were in a war
33:54 and we lost 300,000 people in a year,
33:56 because that's what the real number is.
33:57 It's not 100. You know, you keep hearing
34:00 a 100. And it's a lot worse than that
34:02 because the families are devastated when
34:04 they lose their child. If we were in a
34:06 war, we lost two or three 100,000, but I
34:09 think it's more than 300,000. And that's
34:12 a war. That's like a war that would be
34:14 unparalleled as nobody's ever seen
34:15 anything like that and that's what's
34:18 happening. So, uh it doesn't necessarily
34:19 have to be in Venezuela. It's people
34:22 that are bringing in drugs to our
34:30 >> At the end of of this year, those
34:34 extended Obamacare subsidies expire.
34:37 What's your message to those 24 million
34:40 Americans who will see their insurance
34:40 premiums go up?
34:42 >> Well, don't make it sound so bad
34:44 because, you know, obviously you're a,
34:48 you know, syncopant for Democrats.
34:50 You're obviously a a provider of bad
34:52 news for Republicans. Let me just say
34:55 something. The Republicans, I I think I
34:57 can speak for Tom and most other people.
34:58 I think what most Republicans want to
35:01 see is what I want to see. And I leave
35:02 it to them. And hopefully they're going
35:04 to put great legislation on this desk
35:07 right here. We want to see all of the
35:10 money that's been squandered and given
35:12 to insurance company because Obamacare
35:13 is horrible health insurance. It's far
35:16 too expensive and it always has been.
35:19 But what it really is is a way of making
35:21 insurance companies rich. We want the
35:24 money not to be paid at all to insurance
35:25 companies. You know, insurance companies
35:28 have gone up 1,700% over a short,
35:32 meaning the stock 1,700%
35:34 over a short period of time, and they've
35:37 taken in hundreds of billions and even
35:39 trillions of dollars. And we want the
35:42 money to go to the people. They'll go in
35:45 the form of a insurance account, health
35:48 care account, or any other form that we
35:49 can create. We have a lot of different
35:51 forms. We want to give the money to the
35:53 people and let the people buy their own
35:56 great healthcare and they'll save a lot
35:58 of money and it'll be great. Now, the
36:00 problem we have is that the Republicans
36:04 are not at all uh controlled by the
36:06 insurance companies, but you know who is
36:09 the Democrats. The Democrats have
36:12 received hundreds of millions of
36:14 dollars. They're totally controlled by
36:15 the insurance companies. So, we might
36:17 not get too many of the votes, but I
36:20 actually think we get some Democrat
36:22 votes. So, I don't know how you feel
36:25 about it, Tom, but uh everybody wants to
36:27 see this happen. Everybody, you know, I
36:29 put it out and all of a sudden, we've
36:31 taken over in a positive way. The
36:33 Republicans have taken over healthcare
36:36 in a positive way. I want to see the
36:38 billions of dollars go to the people,
36:39 not to the insurance companies. And I
36:42 want to see the people go out and buy
36:45 themselves great healthcare. much better
36:47 healthcare at very little cost. That's
36:54 >> Thank you. A follow up on that. Many
36:56 congressional Republicans have said they
36:57 won't vote for an Obamacare extension
37:00 deal if it includes funding for
37:01 abortion. Would you assure those
37:03 Republicans that you will not propose?
37:04 >> Well, we're going to look into it. We're
37:06 going to look into a lot of things.
37:08 That's one of many factors. But what we
37:09 do want to see is we want to see the
37:11 money go to the people, not to the
37:16 You have to be nice and easy. Nice and easy.
37:17 easy.
37:19 >> She's very aggressive. Okay. Please.
37:21 >> Thanks, Mr. President. Can you tell us
37:23 how this free economic zone would work
37:25 in the Donbas and R and land that the
37:26 Russians took back?
37:27 >> Well, I don't want to do that now. It's
37:29 very complex situation, but it it would
37:32 work and a lot of people want to see it
37:34 work. And we're going to all I want to
37:36 do is I want to stop the death of 25,000
37:38 people a month. Go ahead.
37:40 >> Thank you, Mr. President. There there
37:42 were new Epstein photos released today
37:44 showing you and also Bill Clinton, Steve
37:46 Bannon. What were your reaction to those
37:48 new photos that were released?
37:49 >> Well, I haven't seen them, but I mean,
37:51 everybody knew this man. He was all over
37:52 Palm Beach. He has photos with
37:54 everybody. I mean, almost there are
37:56 hundreds and hundreds of people that
37:58 have photos with him. So, that's no big
38:00 deal. I know nothing about him. How big
38:03 a role do you want to personally play in
38:05 the decision by the Fed on interest rates?
38:06 rates?
38:08 >> Well, you know, I've made a lot of
38:10 money. I've been very successful. And I
38:13 think my uh role should be at least out
38:15 of a recommending. They don't have to
38:17 follow what I say, but we're going to be
38:19 choosing a new Fed person in the pretty
38:22 near future. Uh but they went out, you
38:24 know, they went out with 71 different
38:27 people, all economists and Trump. I was
38:32 71. And of the 71 people, I got it right
38:33 and one other person I think from the
38:36 Wharton School of Finance, my elma ma
38:37 got it right. There were two people that
38:39 got it right out of but I was one of
38:41 them. So I think I certainly should have
38:45 a role in talking to whoever the head of
38:47 the Fed is or the Fed. I I don't think
38:48 you know in the old days it used to
38:51 happen. Nowadays it's sort of they think
38:54 it shouldn't happen but I've done great.
38:55 I've made a lot of money. I've been very
38:58 successful. I think my voice should be
39:00 heard, but I'm I'm not going to make the
39:02 decision based on that. I'll be making a
39:04 decision over the next few weeks. Thank
