Former President Obama congratulated the Washington Capitals on their Stanley Cup championship win as thousands of fans descended on Washington, D.C., for a victory parade.
Obama couldn’t resist giving a shout out to the Chicago Blackhawks while congratulating the Washington team. Chicago won three Stanley Cups during Obama’s presidency.
“Congratulations to the @Capitals!” Obama tweeted Tuesday. “This @NHLBlackhawks fan knows what it’s like to lift that cup – and I’m happy for all the Caps fans who cheer so hard for their team, and for a team that celebrates so hard with its fans.”
{mosads} President Trump also congratulated the team for the win on Friday, saying it proves “D.C. is popping, in many ways.”
The White House encouraged federal agencies to allow employees to leave work for two hours on Tuesday to attend the championship parade along Constitution Avenue that will end with a rally on the National Mall.
White House advisers Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner took a picture with the Stanley Cup and Capitals players on Saturday after reportedly running into them at a restaurant.
The Capitals are expected to be invited to the White House, but at least one Capitals player, Devante Smith-Pelly, has said that he will skip the visit because of Trump’s rhetoric.
“The things that he spews are straight-up racist and sexist,” Smith-Pelly, who is Canadian and one of the two black players on the team, reportedly said last week.