Following the US men’s Olympic hockey team’s gold medal victory over Canada, the Trump administration has been publicly critical of Canada. However, one of the victorious players, Brady Tkachuk, has spoken out against a recent AI-generated TikTok video posted by the White House that misrepresented him as trash-talking Canadians.
The video, which included a disclaimer noting “AI-generated media,” appeared to modify footage from a Tkachuk press conference. In it, Tkachuk seemingly says, “They booed our national anthem, so I had to come out and teach those maple-syrup-eating-f**ks a lesson.”
Despite his role in Team USA’s 2-1 overtime win, Tkachuk is the captain of the Ottawa Senators, a Canadian-based National Hockey League team. Tkachuk publicly disavowed the White House video on Thursday, stating the animosity directed at Canada was not his own.
“It’s clearly fake, because it’s not my voice and not my lips moving,” Tkachuk told reporters. “I’m not in control of any of those accounts and, uh, yeah, so, I know that those words would never come out of my mouth, so can’t do anything about it.”
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When pressed for his opinion on the video, he responded, “I would never say that. That’s not who I am, so yeah, I guess I don’t like that video.” He emphasized that he gives his all to his professional team in Canada and would never have such a thought, let alone say it, adding, “I would never say anything like that.” Four other US gold medalists also play for Canada-based NHL teams.
CNN has reached out to the White House for comment regarding Tkachuk’s remarks and the video.
The White House’s video is the latest in a series of social media posts promoting Team USA’s win and subsequent visit to Washington, which have also mocked Canada. For example, Trump recently posted an AI-generated video of himself playing hockey in a suit and red tie, physically assaulting Canadian players. The video was a response to an old social media post from former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whom Trump often calls “Governor,” stating, “You can’t take our country – and you can’t take our game.”
Tkachuk also commented on Trump’s prior suggestion to make Canada the 51st US state, stating, “I know I don’t want that, because I still want to play in the best-on-best tournaments.”Broader Context of White House AI and Hockey Controversies
Controversy has also surrounded Trump’s comments about the US women’s Olympic hockey team, who also won gold against Canada. When inviting the men’s team to the White House and the State of the Union Address, Trump stated over a speakerphone held by FBI Director Kash Patel, “I must tell you, we’re gonna have to bring the women’s team — you do know that.” He added that he believed he would “probably be impeached” if he didn’t invite them. The captain of the women’s team later called Trump’s comments a “distasteful” joke, and the team declined the State of the Union invitation due to scheduling conflicts.
This incident is not the first time the White House has faced criticism for an AI-generated video. Weeks prior, Trump shared a racist video depicting former President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama as apes. Although Trump blamed the post on a staffer, the video was deleted after widespread bipartisan backlash, including criticism from the sole Black Republican Senator, Tim Scott.
