It took just 48 hours for the US ice hockey team, fresh from snaffling Olympic gold at Canada’s expense, to be spirited from the podium in Milan to the 24-carat kitsch of the Oval Office.

President Donald Trump, who had marked the feat by sharing an AI-generated video portraying him pushing over Canadian players and punching one repeatedly in the face, even laid on a military Boeing 757 for their trip.

US President Donald Trump, left, and FIFA boss Gianni Infantino in the Oval Office.Credit: Bloomberg

Ever since he performed a Ryder Cup fly-past on Air Force One, he has spared no expense in making political capital out of sport. And photo ops hardly come more precious than parading newly minted champions at your State of the Union address.

“Our country is winning again – in fact, we’re winning so much, we really don’t know what to do about it,” Trump blustered. “People are telling me: ‘Please, Mr President, we’re winning too much, we can’t take it anymore. We’re not used to winning in our country. Until you came along, we were always losing.’”

As if to claim perpetual victory as exclusively a Trump phenomenon, he signalled for the triumphant pucksters to emerge, right on cue, into the House of Representatives chamber in their knitted sweaters, sparking Republican chants of “USA, USA”.

Trump even declared that goal-tender Connor Hellebuyck would be receiving the presidential medal of freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honour. The spectacle was all garishly on-brand, supported by a post – issued by the official White House X account, no less – of a bald eagle appearing to drown a Canada goose.

Members of the US Men’s Olympic Hockey team at the State of the Union address.Credit: Bloomberg

Truly, there is little more powerful than sport in enabling glory by association. Just ask Kash Patel, the FBI director filmed partying wildly with US players in the Milan dressing room. For the highest-ranking official at the world’s pre-eminent law enforcement agency, it was, shall we say, an unconventional look.

Intriguingly, the women’s team, who also won gold, distanced themselves from such brazen politicisation, declining an invitation to the White House on the grounds of scheduling conflicts. It is a tension sure to be amplified many times over at this summer’s World Cup.

© The Age