By Chris Walker

This article was originally published by Truthout

“Just because I’m wearing the flag doesn’t mean I represent everything that’s going on in the US,” Hess said Friday.

On Monday, United States Olympic skier Hunter Hess appeared to respond to President Donald Trump’s remark that he is a “real loser” for expressing mixed feelings about representing the U.S.

The 27-year-old freestyle skier caught the attention of the president for his comments in a press conference in Milan on Friday.

“It brings up mixed emotions to represent the U.S. right now. I think 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,” Hess said.

“Just because I’m wearing the flag doesn’t mean I represent everything that’s going on in the U.S.,” he clarified later.

In response, Trump lashed out at the athlete on Truth Social on Sunday, mischaracterizing Hess’s remarks in the process.

Calling Hess “a real loser,” Trump wrongly claimed the athlete had said “he doesn’t represent his Country in the current Winter Olympics” due to his political views.

“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,” Trump said.

On Monday, Hess appeared to respond in a social media post, without mentioning Trump by name.

“I love my country,” Hess began, adding, “there is so much that is great about America.”

“[B]ut there are always things that could be better,” Hess went on. “One of the many things that makes this country so amazing is that we have the right and the freedom to point that out.”

He continued:

The best part of the Olympics is that it brings people together, and when so many of us are divided we need that more than ever. I cannot wait to represent Team USA next week when I compete. 

Trump’s disdain for anyone who expresses opposition to him has been on display for years — he has targeted journalists for reporting on him in ways he didn’t like, attacked TV hosts and comedians who have made jokes at his expense, and ordered executive branch agencies to investigate left-leaning groups over speech he deemed “anti-American.” Trump has also attacked other athletes, most notably expressing deep, vitriolic anger toward Black football players who kneeled silently in protest against police violence and systemic racism during the National Anthem before games in the late 2010s. 

Hess’s mixed feelings on the U.S. are shared by a large group of Americans. In a Gallup survey last summer — at the time, just six months into Trump’s second term — 58 percent of respondents said they were “very” or “extremely” proud to be an American. While that number still represents a majority, it is the lowest figure in Gallup’s 25 years of asking the question, and significantly lower than the 67 percent of Americans who said they felt pride in the country the year before.

Indeed, there seems to be a direct correlation between American pride decreasing and Trump being in office. From 2016 through 2020, coinciding with most of Trump’s first term in office, American pride also dipped by 18 points. The numbers did not sink that low in any other five-year period since Gallup began polling on the question.

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