Leftists Melt Down Over Trump's Mild Joke About Women's Team During Men's Team Call, with Klavan

What this episode is about

A discussion of reactions to Donald Trump’s joking remark about inviting the women’s team to the White House, arguing that critics mischaracterize it as misogyny and defending the joke as harmless humor, while contrasting audience interest in men’s versus women’s sports and media portrayals.

Key takeaways

• Trump’s locker-room joke becomes a mirror for culture wars: humor weaponized as proof of alleged misogyny, regardless of intent.
• Leftist overreach: contorting a sports-celebration into a gender-patriarchy conspiracy undermines genuine issues and inflates faux outrage.
• Reality: audiences vary; athletes, reality TV, and sports don’t share equal mass appeal, yet polarization insists otherwise.
• Two-party lens distorts patriotism: patriotism becomes a political club, rendering genuine celebration as political ammunition.
• Humor exposes fault lines: the same joke reveals broader tensions about gender, fame, and who gets to police ‘tone.’

Who speaks in this episode?

• Megyn Kelly (Guest) · 6 min speaking
• Andrew Klavan (Guest) · 8 min speaking
• Cash Patel · 1 min speaking
• US Men's Hockey Team (Guest) · 1 min speaking

What is discussed, and when

1. 0:00 – 3:00: Donald Trump, Men's Sports, Gold Medal, women's sports
2. 3:00 – 6:00: United States (states), patriotism, USA Hockey, Donald Trump
3. 6:00 – 9:00: United States (states), Donald Trump, patriotism, American Identity
4. 9:00 – 12:00: Birch Gold Group, USA Hockey, Gold Medal
5. 12:00 – 15:00: women's sports, Men's Sports, Racism, Sexism
6. 15:00 – 15:59: Men's Sports, Sexism

Notable quotes from "Leftists Melt Down Over Trump's Mild Joke About Women's Team During Men's Team Call, with Klavan"

• Have some fun. We have medals for you guys. And we have to, I must tell you, we're going to have to bring the woman's team. You do know that.

  about Donald Trump · at 0:51

• That when the men's US hockey team issues their official apology, I hope that nobody forgives them. They no longer had to treat the women as equals.

  about USA Hockey · at 3:13

• Well, that was a fun 10 minutes of patriotism.

  about patriotism · at 4:05

• The attacks. We're playing defense all the time instead of saying no, we love this country. The Huffington Post attacked people for waving flags after the mail hockey victory.…

  about United States (states) · at 7:21

• Germany, where waving flags is basically gone completely out of fashion. And because of that, they're losing their identities altogether.

  about American Identity · at 8:26

• Ills. And there is something stomach turning for them at watching the nation rally behind men like that. That there aren't enough men of color. There are no non-binaries on the…

  about Identity politics · at 10:11

• Define a woman. So what are they talking about when they're against that when they when we say you know the men's sports and women's sports are different.

  about Men's Sports · at 12:46

• They're more aggressive in virtually every single way. So, it's like it's just absurd that we have to re resort to sexism if there's not an equal amount of interest in what the women are. Just stop. Okay.

  about Sexism · at 15:30

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

• Donald Trump — Person · Primary referenced political figure / catalyst for controversy · 4 mentions · first at 0:07
  A phone call from Donald Trump to the U.S. men's hockey team and his joke about inviting the women's team is framed as the trigger for a 'leftist meltdown' and a broader debate about patriotism and identity politics.
• Megan Rapino — Person · Referenced athlete / foil in culture-war framing · 1 mention · first at 14:54
  Megan Rapinoe is mentioned as an example of a figure said to have politicized or harmed women's soccer, and is also addressed directly regarding harsh language toward the country.
  Popular. Soccer is very po female soccer is very, very popular, including the women's team, notwithstanding people like Megan Rapino who have tried to absolutely ruin it. but…
• Cash Patel — Person · Referenced intermediary / contextual detail · 1 mention · first at 0:19
  Cash Patel is described as physically holding the phone during Trump's call, used as evidence that the call is authentic and to add commentary about contacts ('DT') and the FBI director.
  Cash Patel clearly called the president on his phone because it's Cash holding his phone. You can see he's got him programmed in as DT. I would like to speak to the FBI director about his.
• Barack Obama — Person · Referenced political comparator · 1 mention · first at 6:35
  Barack Obama is cited for a '50-yard line' metaphor about past bipartisan differences, used to contrast with today's alleged existential conflict over the country.
  Happening before. It used to be let's say 40 years ago it used to be that the two parties were on either side as Barack Obama once said of the 50ard line. One thought the…
• Jesse Lou — Person · Referenced athlete (example case) · 1 mention
  Alyssa Lou is cited as a skater who won gold with an 'incredible routine' and was allegedly attacked for 'woke ideas,' used to argue asymmetry in political backlash.
  It's apparently a terrible thing. So all of this stuff, when Alyssa Lou, this skater did that incredible routine and won and was attacked for having some kind of woke ideas. I didn't hear the right actually pick up on that at all.
• Michelle Obama — Person · Referenced public figure (anecdote source) · 1 mention · first at 2:14
  Michelle Obama is referenced for a commonly repeated anecdote about men not discussing emotions, used to support a gender-difference argument.
  What did he say about the divorce? And nothing I didn't ask him. What do you mean? Michelle Obama actually told that exact story about Barack, but it's a it's like a meme.…
• Grimm Brothers — Person · Referenced athletes (target of criticism clip) · 1 mention · first at 4:13
  The Hughes Brothers are named in a quoted rant criticizing the men's hockey players, illustrating the intensity of backlash discussed.
  United States, I hate you more and more every day. Donald Trump, I hate you.
• Thomas Jefferson — Person · Referenced founder (example in monuments debate) · 1 mention · first at 4:55
  Thomas Jefferson is invoked as part of a discussion about how American founders and their homes/monuments are interpreted in contemporary politics.
  Expressed, that wants all of our monuments, whether it's George Washington's home in Mount Vernon or Thomas Jefferson's home, they want them all dedicated to the institution of…

Companies & orgs

• USA Hockey — Organization · Referenced sports organization / cultural symbol · 4 mentions · first at 3:06
  USA Hockey is invoked as the organizational context for the men's team and as a culture described as 'unapologetically patriotic,' which is said to offend critics.

Concepts & topics

• patriotism — Concept · Core topic / value under dispute · 3 mentions · first at 4:05
  Patriotism is presented as being attacked by 'the left,' with flag-waving and celebrating sports victories used as examples of contested national pride.
• Men's Sports — Concept · Core topic / comparison point · 4 mentions · first at 1:37
  The speakers argue that men's sports generally attract more interest due to perceived differences in athletic performance and audience preferences, rejecting claims that unequal interest is 'sexism.'
• women's sports — Concept · Core topic / comparison point · 3 mentions · first at 0:55
  Women's sports are discussed as valuable and sometimes popular (e.g., women's soccer), but the speakers argue they are not equally compelling to audiences in most sports and that this should not be labeled misogyny.
  Have some fun. We have medals for you guys. And we have to, I must tell you, we're going to have to bring the woman's team. You do know that.
• Identity politics — Concept · Core explanatory concept · 2 mentions
  Identity politics is implied through claims that critics focus on race/gender composition (e.g., 'not enough men of color,' 'no non-binaries') rather than the sports achievement.
• American Identity — Concept · Core topic / national cohesion frame · 1 mention · first at 8:31
  American identity is discussed as being threatened by anti-patriotic attitudes and compared to Europe where flag-waving is said to have declined, leading to loss of identity.
• Sexism — Concept · Accusation under dispute / explanatory frame · 3 mentions · first at 1:23
  Sexism is invoked as a label the speakers reject when applied to differences in audience interest between men's and women's sports.
• Misogyny — Concept · Accusation under dispute · 1 mention · first at 1:23
  The episode frames accusations of misogyny (toward the men's team and Trump's joke) as a politicized overreaction rather than a legitimate critique.
  Them. but somehow the left would like to parlay this into a controversy about misogynistic young men. And even Trump's comment as misogynistic as opposed to a joke, an obvious…
• Racism — Concept · Core political framing concept · 1 mention · first at 12:16
  Racism is discussed as a concept the speakers claim has been redirected into anti-white sentiment and used to fuel division and identity-based attacks.
  The left, no, no, it's not the racism that's wrong. We were just racist against the wrong people. Now we're racist against white people and it's fine. Now it's fine. They sit…
• Gold Medal — Concept · Achievement marker / point of comparison · 4 mentions · first at 0:51
  Gold medals are used to compare men's and women's accomplishments and to argue that both teams succeeded ('two for two'), countering claims of misogyny.
  So, first of all, all the young men, you could hear them chanting two for two. Two for two. Meaning, yes, do it because the women won gold, too. and lots of screams of yeah…
• Reality — Concept · Philosophical/epistemic anchor for argument · 2 mentions · first at 1:51
  The speakers claim 'reality' is being 'prosecuted'—i.e., denied or attacked—when discussing sex differences, inequality, and national pride.
  Watch the women. There are a lot of things that women can do. Women in the reality shows are fun. They're colorful.
• Gold Medal in Skating — Concept · Example achievement used in political-asymmetry argument · 1 mention · first at 6:10
  The gold medal in skating is used to argue that the right celebrated an athlete's win despite alleged 'woke ideas,' contrasting with claimed left backlash against pro-Trump views.
  That they thought Yeah, it's great. We won our America won the gold medal in skating with a fantastic routine. But the left was mocking us because they knew that if she had expressed proTrump ideas, there.

Places & events

• United States (states) — Place · Central national referent / object of patriotism debate · 4 mentions · first at 3:43
  The episode frames a cultural-political conflict as being about whether the United States should be celebrated or even 'exist,' tying sports celebration to national identity.
• Mount Vernon — Place · Referenced historical site (example in monuments debate) · 1 mention · first at 4:51
  Mount Vernon is used as an example of monuments/historic sites the speaker claims some activists want reframed primarily around slavery rather than founders.
  Of, fascist idea being expressed, that wants all of our monuments, whether it's George Washington's home in Mount Vernon or Thomas Jefferson's home, they want them all dedicated to the institution of slavery instead of to the people that.
• Olympics — Event · Referenced competition context · 1 mention · first at 14:44
  The Olympics are referenced as the venue where the women's hockey team won gold, supporting the claim that women's achievements were widely celebrated.
  Could name. So, there are many industries where there's total parody amongst men and women. Now, women have an USA hockey team and they went to the Olympics and won gold and…

Sponsors

• Birch Gold Group — Company · Advertiser / recommended product · 3 mentions · first at 8:50
  Birch Gold Group is promoted as a way to diversify savings into precious metals, including converting an IRA/401(k) into gold.
  Impact the US economy. See if holding gold in a tax sheltered retirement account is right for you. Birch Gold can help you convert an existing IRA or 401k into an IRA in gold.…

Full transcript with timestamps

0:00 Let's just start with some of the leftist reaction because what they're claiming they're mad about is that during Trump's phone call with the boys um from the locker room he made a joke and in the joke he said you know he said I want you to come to the White House. Cash Patel clearly called the president on his phone because it's Cash holding his phone. You can see he's got him programmed in as DT. I I would like to speak to the FBI director about his code. Um and uh Trump's talking to the guys saying all the fun things and congratulating them. And then he says uh you know come to the White House or come to the State of the Union and he said you know um we're going to have to invite the women's team as well or I'll be impeached. We have it here.

0:47 What would really be cool and we'll do the White House the next day. We'll just have some fun. We have medals for you guys. And we have to, I must tell you, we're going to have to bring the woman's team. You do know that.

1:02 I do believe I probably would be impeached. Okay. So, first of all, all the the young men, you could hear them chanting two for two. Two for two. Meaning, yes, do it because the women won gold, too. and um lots of screams of yeah, like bring them. Uh but somehow the left would like to parlay this into a controversy about misogynistic young men. And even Trump's comment as misogynistic as opposed to a joke, an obvious joke. Um and even if it wasn't a joke, like do we have to pretend that there's equal interest in men's sports versus women women's? I mean, like there if men held a beauty pageant contestant, nobody would watch, right? or fewer would watch them would watch the women. There are a lot of things that women can do. Women in the reality shows are fun. They're colorful.

1:53 They're emotional. They're interesting to watch. I don't think like a bunch of guys would be able to carry a reality show in that way because they're more stoic. They don't talk about themselves as much. You know, this the old joke like a guy gets a divorce and his the husband of a different wife goes out in the golf course with him for 10 hours. He comes home and the wife is like, "What did he say about the divorce?" And nothing I didn't ask him. What do you mean? Michelle Obama actually told that exact story about Barack, but it's a it's like a meme. Anyway, the point is there are lots of things that make women fascinating and and interesting and people want to tune into them depending on what they're doing. Sports is one of them. But to pretend that it's as compelling in the eyes of the American people as men's sports, men who have the just the prowess that comes with being a larger sized species and the

2:40 testosterone and all the stuff. What? This is ridiculous how we have to pretend it's perfectly equal and there's just as much interest in them women. Okay, I don't think there is. But in any in any event, Trump was making a joke. Okay, but I'm going to show you a little of the leftist meltdown over the fact that Trump did that. The guys didn't hang up on him and then they agreed to go to the State of the Union sought nine. I had no idea that the US men's hockey team warmed up by licking boots.

3:13 That when the men's US hockey team issues their official apology, I hope that nobody forgives them. They no longer had to treat the women as equals. They were allowed to let their true emotions out legitimately to the US men's hockey team. you. The women won gold before you did. to watch that knowing everything that's going on was nauseiating.

3:41 US men's hockey team who decided to giggle with the United States president. Just so you know, that's a very weird way to say that you all have small pee peas.

3:49 It only took you like 37 seconds from getting off of the ice from your game into the locker room to disappoint the entire goddamn country. You loser

4:00 Do not trust her. Well, that was a fun 10 minutes of patriotism. United States, I hate you more and more every day. Donald Trump, I hate you. Hughes Brothers, that was embarrassing. And I hope your mother hits you.

4:18 Andrew, help help us out here. Well, well, first of all, this this is a problem, an actual problem in the country is that we're now dealing with two parties. We we're a two-party system. One of our parties is are the Republicans who range from the incompetent uh to the somewhat interesting. The other side are the Democrats who are now powered by forces that don't want this country to exist, that think this it's bad that this country exists, that thinks that any show of patriotism, uh, is is some kind of, um, you know, fascist idea being expressed, that wants all of our monuments, whether it's George Washington's home in Mount Vernon or Thomas Jefferson's home, they want them all dedicated to the institution of slavery instead of to the people that people go there to see. This is this is an actual attitude that's at the heart of the Democrat party, though not all Democrats. I mean, there are plenty of

5:08 patriotic, decent Democrats who just don't know what they're voting for anymore. And so, everything gets politicized at a level that is completely inappropriate. First of all, if you're going to tell me that men get in go into a locker room and make jokes about women, I'm just shocked. I am just shocked. The fact that I can still sit in this chair after hearing this news is incredible. And I actually have have heard though I I shudder to believe it that women when they get together discuss men and even roll their eyes at some of the things that men do. This is part of life that actually I find kind of delightful uh and uh at the heart of all joy and creativity in life. But no, it's apparently a a terrible terrible thing. So all of this stuff, I mean, when when Alyssa uh Lou, this skater did that incredible incredible routine and won and was uh attacked for having some kind of woke ideas. I didn't hear the

6:05 right actually pick up on that at all. You know, that they they thought like, "Yeah, it's great. We won our America won the gold medal in skating with a fantastic routine." But the left was mocking us because they knew that if she had expressed proTrump ideas, there would have been death threats against her and she would have been uh absolutely uh you know rejected by the left. So we're really dealing with two different ways of seeing the country. This is different than what was happening before. It used to be let's say 40 years ago it used to be that the two parties were on either side as as Barack Obama once said of the 50ard line. One thought the government should do a little more, one thought the government should do a little less. But we all thought that this was a great place to be. We all honored our founders. We all honored our founding.

6:46 That is is over now. And until people start to understand that that's the argument we're in, that we're not in an argument, for instance, about whether illegal immigrants should be deported or not. We're in an argument whether the country should exist, whether there is in fact no there are no illegals on stolen land, which means this country should not exist, is is an actual non- entity morally. So everything is about that conversation and and what we are always in the uh in the position of doing is playing backup. We're always being attacked and then having to answer the attacks. We're playing defense all the time instead of saying no, you know, we love this country. The Huffington Post attacked people for waving flags after the mail hockey victory. I'm not hearing anything about that. You know, they we weren't supposed to express patriotism in this terrible time of crisis when Donald Trump is president.

7:37 And I, you know, unlike you, uh, Megan, I can't you I can't use the language you use because I'm in the presence of a lady and you're not. I just, my answer, my response to that is two words long. And the second one is you. I don't I don't understand why I can't wave my flag for this country, which is an amazing country, a beautiful country, a great country. I don't even have to add it's not a perfect country because nothing in life is perfect. But but I just I just feel that this division is one we haven't cottoned on to yet. And the media, which largely sides with the left, works hard not to cotton onto it.

8:13 We're not discussing what this great country should do, whether it should go forward a little to the left or a little to the right. We're discussing whether this country should exist and be celebrated. And if you don't think that's true, you only have to look at the nations of Europe, uh, Britain, Germany, where waving flags is basically gone completely out of fashion. And because of that, they're losing their identities altogether.

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9:29 peace of mind regardless of the uncertainty. Text MK to the number 989898. I think the vast majority of these women, and there are men too, will play them. They're not they're not actually offended at all by the fact that these guys reacted the way they did to the Trump call. They hate they do hate Trump. Um, but they're not offended by the way the guys reacted at all. They were offended at them, period. They are incapable of celebrating a great moment brought to us by white young men.

10:03 They they are incap they hate them. They feel that they are the source of all of society's problems and ills. And there is something stomach turning for them at watching the nation rally behind men like that. That there aren't enough men of color. There are no non-binaries on the team. There um are no women on this particular team even though they have their their own their own team. They're unapologetically patriotic as is apparently in the culture of USA hockey, especially men's hockey. And all of that was offensive to these people before they saw that phone call, before the guys said they would go to the State of the Union. They were looking for a reason to hate them, to declare their hatred for them. And these guys did not give it to them. I mean, like, listen, let's just listen to the President Trump phone call one more time. Listen to their reaction. They're enthusiastic. As soon as he mentions the

11:03 women, they're like, "Yeah, they love the women's team. They they trained with the women's team. They've talked about it. We'll play some, but just play the Trump bite one more time.

11:12 What would really be cool, and we'll do the White House the next day. We'll just have some fun. We have medals for you guys. And we have to, I must tell you, we're going to have to bring the women's team. You do know that.

11:27 I do believe I probably would be impeached. Okay. Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. Two for two. Two for two. What? virtually every guy there was in favor of it, Andrew. But the these leftists need they need to hate these guys.

11:46 You have you ever heard I again it just doesn't go both ways. We are dealing with two entirely different attitudes toward the country. Have you ever heard Republicans get upset if a basketball team won by saying like, "Oh, there are too many black people on this team." You know, of course not. We understand that different, you know, sports attract different kinds of people and there are different a million kinds of people in this country and they're all Americans if they support America. I think that this is just part of a a a mindset. It's like they're high on their own supply.

12:16 They've been selling division, selling racial hatred, selling identity hatred all this time and now they've caught it. Now they've caught, you know, they started out, we all started out saying, "Hey, you know, racism is wrong. We got to stop treating black people badly according to their race." We all were kind of moving in that direction. But the left, no, no, it's not the racism that's wrong. We were just racist against the wrong people. Now we're racist against white people and it's fine. Now it's fine. They sit around and talk about women. They don't even believe women exist. They do not even believe women exist. Not one of them can define a woman. So what are they talking about when they're against that when they when we say you know the men's sports and women's sports are different.

12:53 That that is just a truth. I mean it is just a truth that men's sports with the exception of tennis which is an important exception but with the exception of tennis that men's sports attract more people because men are more into sports and the men's men are of a higher excellence than the women are you know it's just the way it is. It's like what why why are we uh prosecuting reality? We're prosecuting reality because in reality people are unequal. In reality freedom is good. In reality America is good. And so we're attacking all those things because we're hoping to create this utopian idea that has just infected the minds of so many people. It is just uh it's dangerous,

13:31 but it's so it's so annoying because they try. I mean, you you really have to try to not let let them rain on your parade, but they try. You know, I'm thinking about let's take the news business or let's take the acting business. Um there there's no sexism in terms of the audience and their ability to appreciate a male or a female news anchor or podcaster for that matter. None. There is there is it is a pure meritocracy. I can speak to that having been at the top of both industries. Um, when I was at Fox, my show was number one, and we crushed all competition across the demo, and we even wound up beating Bill O'Reilly, who had been the long-term ratings leader for years in that key advertising demo. Uh, you know, a female. So, it was nobody cared. In in, you know, Hollywood, too, there's male there's the male Oscar, there's the female Oscar, but there are mega female stars just like there are mega male

14:27 stars. you know, you don't get much bigger than a Julia Roberts uh back in her day especially, but now, you know, there's a lot of other ones that we could name. So, there are many industries where there's total parody amongst men and women. Now, women have an USA hockey team and they went to the Olympics and won gold and they were celebrated universally. Women have a soccer team which is actually quite popular. Soccer is very po female soccer is very, very popular, including the women's team, notwithstanding people like Megan Rapino who have tried to absolutely ruin it. Um, but it it is sports in general is generally going to favor the men and viewers generally prefer watching men play sports for the reasons I stated at the top. male prowess, male athleticism, the male figure, the male muscular and muscular skeletal system, you know, male testosterone, male reaction speed, male aggression, all the things that have

15:22 made men men for thousands of years translate very well into athletics, and they're fun to watch in that way. And they are more aggressive. They're they're more aggressive in virtually every single way. So, it's like it's just absurd that we we have to re resort to sexism if there's not an equal amount of interest in what the women are. Just stop. Okay. Thanks so much for watching. If you like what you just saw, hit the subscribe button for more clips and full episodes.

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "Leftists Melt Down Over Trump's Mild Joke About Women's Team During Men's Team Call, with Klavan"?

Megyn Kelly (Guest), Andrew Klavan (Guest), Cash Patel, US Men's Hockey Team (Guest).

What is "Leftists Melt Down Over Trump's Mild Joke About Women's Team During Men's Team Call, with Klavan" about?

A discussion of reactions to Donald Trump’s joking remark about inviting the women’s team to the White House, arguing that critics mischaracterize it as misogyny and defending the joke as harmless humor, while contrasting audience interest in men’s versus women’s sports and media portrayals.

What is mentioned in this Megyn Kelly episode?

24 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Donald Trump, United States (states), patriotism, Men's Sports, women's sports, Identity politics. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "Leftists Melt Down Over Trump's Mild Joke About Women's Team During Men's Team Call, with Klavan"?

The episode runs 16 min; the transcript is about 2,984 words in 27 timestamped sections.

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