He congratulated the team on its success in the 2023-2024 season, which culminated in a Game 7 victory at home against the Edmonton Oilers last June.
“The entire team, congratulations on your first-ever Stanley Cup win,” Trump said. “And you had a couple of really close calls, and I watched the team get better and better and better, and then they won.”
Much of the Panthers roster showed up to the White House in maroon or red ties, to the pleasure of the president.
“I love all these ties. This is so cute, these people,” Trump said, drawing laughs from the players. “Look at them. I walked in, I said, ‘I think they like Trump.’”
Panthers Captain Sasha Barkov and star forward Matthew Tkachuk presented Trump with a jersey bearing the number 47. The team also gifted Trump a jersey with the numbers 45-47, marking both of his presidencies. Tkachuk expressed how proud he is to be an American while speaking from Trump’s podium.
“Thank you, Mr. President, for having us today; we greatly appreciate it,” he told Trump, adding, “I’m really grateful to be an American.”
The Panthers are currently in first place in the Eastern Conference with several months to go in the 2024-2025 season as they seek back-to-back titles.
Their 2023-2024 campaign saw them breeze through the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-1 in the first round of the playoffs, followed by 4-2 series victories over the Boston Bruins and the New York Rangers in the conference semi-finals and the conference finals.
Trump met with the team after reaching agreements with Mexico and Canada to pause implementing tariffs he signed on Saturday. As part of the agreements, Mexico is sending 10,000 troops to the southern border to stop the flow of fentanyl and drugs across the border, while Canada is ramping up security efforts at the northern border.
Breitbart News
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