Transcript - Remarks: Donald Trump Meets the Stanley Cup-Winning Washington Capitals - March 25, 2019 | Factba.se

Donald Trump

00:00:00 - 00:00:07 (8 sec)

Well, thank you very much. This is a great honor for me because I'm a hockey fan and I'm a Capitals fan. And Ted, I'm you're fan too, if you want to the know the truth, okay?

Ted Leonsis

00:00:07 - 00:00:08 (1 sec)

Very nice, Mr. President.

Donald Trump

00:00:08 - 00:00:29 (21 sec)

And this guy -- I have no choice but to be his fan -- [Laughter] -- because he is something special. Look at those hands. Huh? [Laughter] Come on. Special guy. Special athlete, player. They all are. They won something last year, and it was just -- that’s all people wanted to talk about. I couldn’t get them focused on other things that we deal with, which are very important.

Donald Trump

00:00:29 - 00:00:48 (19 sec)

They were all about the Capitals. And I guess you have six more games, and you go back, and then it's back into the playoffs. And I think you're going to do fantastically well. Alex, I know you're going to do great. Today, we welcome to the White House the 2018 Stanley Cup Champions, the Washington Capitals.

Donald Trump

00:00:48 - 00:00:56 (8 sec)

And it's really a special team. And they have a special owner, a man who has been a great success over his lifetime. He's got -- you've got your son here with you, too, I believe. Right?

Ted Leonsis

00:00:56 - 00:00:57 (1 sec)

Donald Trump

00:00:57 - 00:01:04 (7 sec)

So thank you very much. And your new head coach, Todd Reirden. Todd, thank you very much, and good luck in the playoffs.

Todd Reirden

00:01:04 - 00:01:04 (0 sec)

Donald Trump

00:01:04 - 00:01:27 (24 sec)

That’s going to be starting very soon. And we welcome, most importantly, the entire Capitals team. They're winners. They know how to win. And I think you’re going to see that starting in a little while. You had a truly incredible season, last season, defending against your archrivals and two-time reigning champions, the Pittsburgh Penguins. How are they doing, Ted?

Ted Leonsis

00:01:27 - 00:01:28 (1 sec)

They'll be in the playoffs.

Donald Trump

00:01:28 - 00:01:30 (1 sec)

They're never easy, right?

Ted Leonsis

00:01:30 - 00:01:31 (1 sec)

Donald Trump

00:01:31 - 00:01:56 (26 sec)

They're never easy, but let's see how it all works out. You were led to victory by a very special athlete, a great player, Captain -- Team Captain Alex Ovechkin. And where's Ivanka? She was back there. She's a friend, and she -- she's a tremendous fan. "Alexander the Great," they call him, has spent his entire 13-year NHL career with the Washington Capitals.

Donald Trump

00:01:56 - 00:02:03 (7 sec)

And his hard work and loyalty has paid off last season. He outscored every player in the league. Wow. That's not bad. Right?

Alex Ovechkin

00:02:03 - 00:02:04 (1 sec)

Yeah. [Laughter]

Donald Trump

00:02:04 - 00:02:26 (22 sec)

With 64 goals. That’s like Babe Ruth. He hit more than every player in the league. He had, actually, one season, and I think he had more homeruns than every player in the league. Other than that, he wasn’t a very good hitter. He was a special one, too. Sixty-four goals, a hundred and fourteen points, and was named the playoff MVP. And that was easy.

Donald Trump

00:02:26 - 00:02:35 (9 sec)

Nobody did more to deserve the Conn Smythe Trophy. And, Alex, congratulations. And we're going to all be watching you in a few weeks -- in a couple of weeks.

Alex Ovechkin

00:02:35 - 00:02:35 (1 sec)

Donald Trump

00:02:35 - 00:02:42 (7 sec)

And I have no doubt your team is going to do great. And we also have Gary Bettman. Where's Gary? He's around here someplace. He --

Gary Bettman

00:02:42 - 00:02:43 (1 sec)

Donald Trump

00:02:43 - 00:02:55 (12 sec)

Where? You mean you didn't make the team? Okay, but come over here for a sec. The Commissioner of the NHL. And you have done a great job, I have to say. You have done a -- I knew you before, right? Before he was a --

Gary Bettman

00:02:55 - 00:02:55 (0 sec)

Donald Trump

00:02:55 - 00:02:58 (3 sec)

-- I knew you at a different league, and you did -- you did a great thing.

Gary Bettman

00:02:58 - 00:02:58 (0 sec)

Donald Trump

00:02:58 - 00:03:00 (1 sec)

So congratulations, man. Great job.

Gary Bettman

00:03:00 - 00:03:00 (1 sec)

Thank you very much, Mr. President.

Donald Trump

00:03:00 - 00:03:13 (12 sec)

Have a great playoff. So after coming up short the first game, in the first game of the series, the team never quit. It looked like they were in trouble. Defenseman John Carlson -- where's John? Where is he?

Unidentified

00:03:13 - 00:03:17 (5 sec)

Behind you. [Laughter]

Donald Trump

00:03:17 - 00:03:41 (24 sec)

Is he good? Is he good? He's pretty good, right? I know he's good. John Carlson repeatedly found the back of the net, earning a franchise record as a defenseman with 20 points in the post-season. Wow, that's pretty good, huh? That's very good. [Laughter] You know, there used to be a man, Bobby Orr. Right? I used to watch him play the Rangers. Bobby Orr.

John Carlson

00:03:41 - 00:03:41 (0 sec)

Donald Trump

00:03:41 - 00:03:44 (2 sec)

And he was great offensive defenseman, right?

John Carlson

00:03:44 - 00:03:45 (2 sec)

Yeah, he's a lot better than me. [Laughter]

Donald Trump

00:03:45 - 00:03:55 (9 sec)

No, I don't know. I'm not sure. Including an impressive goal in game four, which was a very important one. And Evgeny -- where's Evgeny? Where are you?

Ted Leonsis

00:03:55 - 00:03:57 (3 sec)

Right here. Evgeny Kuznetsov.

Donald Trump

00:03:57 - 00:03:58 (0 sec)

Evgeny Kuznetsov

00:03:58 - 00:03:58 (0 sec)

Donald Trump

00:03:58 - 00:04:13 (15 sec)

Well, you're a young guy. Look at this guy. [Laughter] And I think everybody -- Kuznetsov -- [Laughter] -- tied a league record with four assists to the single finals game. That's fantastic. It was really a team. A great team you put together, Ted.

Ted Leonsis

00:04:13 - 00:04:15 (2 sec)

Thank you, sir.

Donald Trump

00:04:15 - 00:04:34 (19 sec)

So you brought the Stanley Cup home. Thousands of adoring fans greeted you. They were all over the place. And I have a feeling you're going to be doing it again. You're champions. You have a champion's heart. Your owner has been so fantastic. He's kept this team together. And you pretty much have the same team that you had last year, for the most part.

Ted Leonsis

00:04:34 - 00:04:34 (1 sec)

Donald Trump

00:04:34 - 00:04:50 (16 sec)

And I just want to wish you a lot of luck. In Washington, that's what they want to talk about. They don't want to talk about anything else. I can't get their subject on to anything else. So you got to win quickly, okay? Because we have to get back to work -- to the normal work. [Laughter] But I think you're going to do really fantastically well.

Donald Trump

00:04:50 - 00:05:08 (18 sec)

I want to just say it's an honor to have the Caps with us. It's an honor to have the Washington Capitals here. You're winners, in the highest sense. It's very tough to win. It's very tough to go through all those teams. And I really tell you, I think you're going to have an awfully good chance of doing it again.

Donald Trump

00:05:08 - 00:05:21 (13 sec)

We don't want to put too much pressure. A lot of times you're better off saying, "Eh, it doesn't matter." It takes the pressure off. But you have nothing -- you know, you have no pressure because you won. And this makes it easier. Wouldn't you say that's true, Gary? Makes it a little bit easier. [Laughter]

Gary Bettman

00:05:21 - 00:05:23 (2 sec)

We just want excitement. [Laughter]

Donald Trump

00:05:23 - 00:05:27 (4 sec)

So, Ted, maybe I'd ask you to say a couple of words to your fans out there, because you have a lot of them.

Ted Leonsis

00:05:27 - 00:05:41 (13 sec)

Thank you. It's a great honor to be here in the Oval Office. And the team is very, very respectful to the process and what it takes to win. And we hope to make the community in Washington, D.C. proud and try to do it again this year.

Donald Trump

00:05:41 - 00:05:41 (0 sec)

Ted Leonsis

00:05:41 - 00:05:50 (9 sec)

And thank you very much for all of your hospitality here in the White House. It's a true thrill for all of the players and the organization, and a great honor. Thank you, sir.

Donald Trump

00:05:50 - 00:06:01 (11 sec)

Well, we have great respect for what you've done on this team. So, what about you, MVP? Do you want to say a couple of words? [Laughter]

Alex Ovechkin

00:06:01 - 00:06:02 (1 sec)

Yeah, sure. [Laughter]

Donald Trump

00:06:02 - 00:06:03 (1 sec)

Alex Ovechkin

00:06:03 - 00:06:24 (21 sec)

My speech is going to be much easier than it was in the parade. But thank you very much for having us. It's a huge honor for us to be here and meet you personally. And, you know, we're going to try to do it again. We have the same team, experienced team. We're a good group of guys. And we're going to try to do it again. Thank you.

Donald Trump

00:06:24 - 00:06:26 (2 sec)

Well, I think you're going to be successful, man.

Alex Ovechkin

00:06:26 - 00:06:27 (1 sec)

Donald Trump

00:06:27 - 00:06:35 (8 sec)

Very proud of you guys. Well, good luck. We're going to be watching everyone get that same number of goals. [Laughter] [Inaudible] -- we do say Bobby Orr, right?

John Carlson

00:06:35 - 00:06:36 (1 sec)

Donald Trump

00:06:36 - 00:06:46 (10 sec)

You're going to do -- I think you're going to do fan- -- say a few words. Go ahead. [Inaudible] [Laughter] They don't -- they never let the defensemen talk, right? Come on.

John Carlson

00:06:46 - 00:06:52 (6 sec)

Thanks for having us. It's an honor to be here. I think all of us looked very much forward to it. So it's great. A great honor.

Donald Trump

00:06:52 - 00:06:55 (3 sec)

Thank you very much. Great job. Thank you very much.

John Carlson

00:06:55 - 00:06:56 (1 sec)

Yeah. Thank you very much.

Ted Leonsis

00:06:56 - 00:06:56 (1 sec)

Donald Trump

00:06:56 - 00:07:01 (4 sec)

So, good luck, Ted. Take care of yourself. [Applause] Special guy.

Ted Leonsis

00:07:01 - 00:07:03 (2 sec)

Thank you, sir. Appreciate it. [Applause]

Donald Trump

00:07:03 - 00:07:05 (2 sec)

Thank you, everybody.