“Loser mentality”: Chris Cuomo hits back at Karoline Leavitt amid Team USA men’s Olympic hockey White House controversy

Chris Cuomo did not hold back. Karoline Leavitt did not stay quiet. And suddenly, Team USA’s gold medal moment turned into a loud online fight. The clash started on February 25 when Chris Cuomo reacted to a post about the US Men’s Olympic Hockey Team winning gold at the Milan Winter Olympics. The American men had just ended a 46 year wait for Olympic gold. The women’s team also won gold, making it a huge moment for USA Hockey. But instead of only celebrating the win, politics entered the chat. Cuomo reposted praise for the team and pointed out that players should not be attacked for visiting the White House.

Soon after, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt fired back. She called his take “dumb” and wrote, “This team just brought home Gold Medals for the first time in 46 years, and they were honored by the duly elected President of the United States in front of the entire U.S. Congress. Only people with a loser mentality would think this way.”

Cuomo responded strongly. He wrote, “Dumb?… loser?… what are you 12? Loving the team is easy. I was talking about people blaming them for going. Maga needs to calm more, shoot less.” What began as praise for the American Hockey team quickly became a political back and forth online.

While the online fight continued, another big story followed. The US Women’s Hockey Team decided not to attend President Donald Trump’s White House celebration.

The decision came after a locker room video went viral.

In that video, President Donald Trump joked that he “probably would be impeached” if he did not invite the women’s team just like the men’s team. The comment drew laughter in the room, but it did not sit well with everyone.

Team captain Hilary Knight later spoke to ESPN about it. She called the remark “a distasteful joke.” She said the situation was “overshadowing a lot of the success, the success of just women at the Olympics caring for Team USA and having amazing gold medal feats.”

Still, Hilary Knight made it clear she was proud of the men’s team. She said, “I think the guys were in a tough spot, so I think it’s a shame this storyline and narrative has kind of blown up and is overshadowing that connection and genuine interest in one another and cheering each other on.”

Meanwhile, the men’s team traveled to Washington on a military plane. During the State of the Union address on February 24, President Donald Trump praised them for about six minutes in front of Congress. In the end, both teams won gold. But instead of only talking about goals, saves, and history, much of the focus shifted to politics and online arguments.