Article content
JD Vance has a message for athletes competing with Team USA at the Winter Olympics: Zip it.
Article content
The U.S. vice president is currently in Milan, Italy, alongside his wife, Usha Vance, representing the country at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games.
Article content
Instead of soaking up the Olympic spirit, Vance found himself absorbing a barrage of boos during the opening ceremony — and reportedly bristled at American athletes who have been speaking out against President Donald Trump and his administration, particularly its aggressive anti-immigration policies, reports Entertainment Weekly.
After jeers, Vance fires back
“Yes, you’re going to have some Olympic athletes who pop off about politics. I feel like that happens at every Olympics,” he said during an interview with CNN on Wednesday.
“My advice to them would be to try to bring the country together, and when you’re representing the country, you’re representing Democrats and Republicans. You’re there to play a sport, and you’re there to represent your country and hopefully win a medal. You’re not there to pop off about politics.”
Article content
Doubling down
Vance warned that athletes who instead wade into politics shouldn’t be surprised by the repercussions.
“When Olympic athletes enter the political arena, they should expect some pushback,” Vance continued.
While acknowledging that “most Olympic athletes, whatever their politics, are doing a great job” and “certainly enjoy the support of the entire country,” Vance insisted that “the way to bring the country together is not to show up in a foreign country and attack the president of the United States, but it’s to play your sport and represent the country well.”
RECOMMENDED VIDEO
We apologize, but this video has failed to load.
Some not staying silent
Curler Richard Ruohonen of Minnesota — ground zero for what’s been described as the administration’s most aggressive deployment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in the Democrat-led state — didn’t hold back his thoughts during a press conference Tuesday.
“What’s happening in Minnesota is wrong,” he said. “There’s no shades of grey. We love our country. We’re playing for Team USA. What the Olympics means is excellence, respect, friendship. We are playing for the people around the country who show those, share those same values, that compassion, that love, and that respect.”
There’s also skier Hunter Hess, who angered Trump simply by admitting that “it brings up mixed emotions to represent the U.S. right now.” That was enough to earn him “a real Loser” label in a post to the POTUS’ Truth Social platform, per EW.
How international crowd feels
As the Vances’ names were announced at the opening ceremony, the arena responded with a wave of boos.
“There’s the vice president, JD Vance … oop … those are not… eh, those are a lot of boos for him — whistling, jeering, some applause,” a CBC announcer observed live on air.
Share this article in your social network