The national champion UCLA Bruins women’s basketball team has not heard from President Donald Trump — and it doesn’t appear that they’re expecting to.
The champs are on their post-title media tour and stopped by Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Tuesday, April 7, where host Jimmy Kimmel asked if they had received a call from the Commander in Chief.
The four players present, along with head coach Cori Close, stayed silent for a second, smirking, before Kiki Rice said, “We have not.” The players then let out a quick laugh at the suggestion.
Kimmel, 58, speculated the team might hear from him “in two weeks,” then launched into a bit where he suggested they bring a fake championship trophy with them in the event they receive a White House invite. (It is tradition that the champions in college and professional sports receive a congratulatory phone call from the President and an invitation to the White House.)
UCLA defeated South Carolina, 79-51, on Sunday, April 5, to capture their first championship in the NCAA Tournament era. Center Lauren Betts was named the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player, scoring 14 points and grabbing 11 rebounds against the Gamecocks in the title game.
Though the Bruins still have not heard from Trump, 79, former President Barack Obama posted a congratulatory message to the team after the game.
“Congratulations to Lauren Betts and the sensational seniors at @UCLAWBB for winning their first NCAA Championship!” Obama, 64, wrote via X.
Kimmel brought up during UCLA’s appearance that Obama had picked UConn to win the women’s title in his annual pre-tournament bracket, but the players did not seem to hold any hard feelings toward him for it.
“Everybody makes mistakes, it’s OK,” Close, 54, joked.
Trump, meanwhile, came under fire during the 2026 Winter Olympics for seemingly disparaging comments he made toward the gold medal-winning Team USA women’s hockey team after the men also took home gold in Italy. He called the men’s team after the game to invite them to the White House.
“We have medals for you guys. I must tell you, we‘re going to have to bring the women’s team,” Trump said, eliciting a laugh from the players as he suggested he would “probably be impeached” if he didn’t also invite them.
Jack Hughes, who scored the winning goal for the men, downplayed the controversy as the team faced significant criticism for laughing at Trump’s comments.
“You’re in the moment, the president calls,” Hughes, 24, told reporters. “We’re blaring the music and then they pause the music and then the president calls. I don’t think … obviously, it is what it is now.”
Hughes added, “We have so much respect for the women’s team. They have so much respect for us. We’re all just proud Americans. We’re happy that we both swept the Olympics.”
