Expressed negative view

Trump lashes out at American Olympian who expressed negative view of US politics

"Just 'cause I'm wearing the flag doesn't mean I represent everything that's going on in the U.S.," skier Hunter Hess said at a news conference ahead of the games.

By Cheyanne M. Daniels

First-time Olympian Hunter Hess has drawn the ire of President Donald Trump just days after the freestyle skier spoke out against the administration’s political priorities.

Trump bashed Hess, who said he has “mixed emotions” representing the U.S. at the Italian Olympic Games due to the current political climate, in a Truth Social post on Sunday.

“U.S. Olympic Skier, Hunter Hess, a real Loser, says he doesn’t represent his Country in the current Winter Olympics,” Trump posted on Sunday. “If that’s the case, he shouldn’t have tried out for the Team, and it’s too bad he’s on it. Very hard to root for someone like this. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

Ahead of the opening ceremony in Italy on Friday, Hess said he feels like he’s representing aspects of the U.S. “if it aligns with my moral values” but made clear he’s “not the biggest fan of” everything happening in the U.S..

“It’s a little hard. There’s obviously a lot going on that I’m not the biggest fan of, and I think a lot of people aren’t. … Just ‘cause I’m wearing the flag doesn’t mean I represent everything that’s going on in the U.S,” Hess said.

Trump wasn’t the only conservative to take issue with the 27-year-old’s words.

“YOU chose to wear our flag. YOU chose to represent our country. YOU chose to compete at the @Olympics,” Florida Republican Rep. Byron Donalds posted on social media. “If that’s too hard for you, then GO HOME. Some things are bigger than politics. You just don’t get it.”

Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), called on Hess to “shut up and go play in the snow.”

But Hess isn’t the only athlete this year to lobby criticism toward his home country. As American athletes competing for gold take center stage, many are using their global platform to denounce some of the White House’s policies from the sidelines.

In her own press conference, figure skater Amber Glenn said it has been a “hard time” for the LGBTQ+ community under the Trump administration. The administration has taken several steps that have sparked outrage from LGBTQ+ advocacy groups, such as shutting down a crisis hotline specifically designated for the community and attempting to limit passport sex markers.

“I know that a lot of people say, ‘You’re just an athlete. Like, stick to your job. Shut up about politics,’ but politics affect us all,” Glenn said. “It is something that I will not just be quiet about because it is something that affects us in our everyday lives.”

Meanwhile, freestyle skier and gold medalist Chris Lillis said he is “heartbroken” over the recent actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.

“A lot of times, athletes are hesitant to talk about political views and how we feel about things. I feel heartbroken about what’s happening in the United States,” he told a reporter after being asked about representing the U.S. on the world stage. “I’m pretty sure you’re referencing ICE and some of the protests and things like that. I think that as a country, we need to focus on respecting everybody’s rights and making sure that we’re treating our citizens as well as anybody, with love and respect.”

Still, Lillis said, he loves the U.S. and “would never want to represent a different country in the Olympics.”

Though the Olympics have long occurred against a backdrop of geopolitical tensions, this year’s games have taken on an overtly political tone as Trump’s policies threaten to disrupt longstanding partnerships between the U.S. and Europe. Trump did not attend this year’s opening ceremony at Milan’s famous San Siro Stadium, but the Milan crowd’s reception for his designated representative, Vice President JD Vance, was less than lukewarm.

The frosty reception from Europeans extended to Gus Kenworthy, a British-American representing team Great Britain in the free-ski half-pipe, who offered a graphic visual of his objection to Trump’s policies.

In a post on Instagram ahead of the start of the games, the 34-year-old posted the words “Fuck ICE” written in a pile of snow, a display he later revealed was urine.

“Innocent people have been murdered, and enough is enough,” Kenworthy wrote in the caption. “We can’t wait around while ICE continues to operate with unchecked power in our communities.”

But it isn’t the first time Olympic athletes have shared their viewpoint on the politics of their homeland. While the Olympic Charter forbids any form of “demonstration or political, religious, or racial propaganda” at Olympic venues, athletes may express their views at press conferences, team meetings and on media platforms.

During the 2021 Tokyo Games, U.S. women’s soccer players took a knee to protest for racial justice. At the 2016 games in Rio, Feyisa Lilesa held up his wrists in a crossed gesture, on behalf of his Oromo people, who are native to the Oromia region in Ethiopia but faced the prospect of relocation.

Perhaps one of the most memorable instances of Olympians expressing their political views came during the medal presentation for the men’s 200-meter event at 1968 Summer Games in Mexico City, at which gold medalist Tommie Smith and bronze medalist John Carlos both bowed their heads and raised closed fists in a sign of Black power. Both were suspended from the U.S. team and expelled from the Olympic Village.