{"id":169703,"date":"2026-02-08T22:46:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-08T22:46:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/169703\/"},"modified":"2026-02-08T22:46:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-08T22:46:09","slug":"trump-rebukes-u-s-skier-hunter-hess-for-olympic-comments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/169703\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump rebukes U.S. skier Hunter Hess for Olympic comments"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

MILAN\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Mikaela Shiffrin<\/a> has generally let her performances do the talking during a career that has seen her win two Olympic titles and more World Cup races than any skier in history.<\/p>\n

But she clearly had something more to say before taking the slopes for the first time in the Milan-Cortina Winter Games<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI actually have some thoughts,\u201d she said when asked by a reporter how she felt about representing the U.S. at a time when the country is riven by deep political divides. \u201cI can read something that I have written if you guys don\u2019t mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shiffrin then looked down at her phone for a quote from Nelson Mandela, who said: \u201cPeace is not just the absence of conflict. Peace is the creation of an environment where all can flourish regardless of race, color, creed, religion, gender, class, caste or any other social markers of difference.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mandela\u2019s quote was said a day earlier by actress Charlize Theron during the Winter Olympics opening ceremony, and it resonated deeply with Shiffrin.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me this relates to the Olympics,\u201d Shiffrin said. \u201cI\u2019m really hoping to show up and represent my own values. Values of inclusivity, values of diversity and kindness.\u201d<\/p>\n

Left unsaid is the belief that many of those values are under attack in the country whose flag she wears in competition.<\/p>\n

Traditionally, U.S. athletes have avoided discussing politics on the world stage. But at the Milan-Cortina Games, several Americans have joined Shiffrin in speaking about the conflict of representing a country that may no longer be representing their values.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt brings up mixed emotions to represent the U.S. right now,\u201d said freestyle skier Hunter Hess, who was referencing the ongoing federal immigration raids in Minnesota. \u201cIt\u2019s a little hard. There\u2019s obviously a lot going on that I\u2019m not the biggest fan of.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust because I\u2019m wearing the flag doesn\u2019t mean I represent everything that\u2019s going on in the U.S.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Hunter <\/p>\n

Hunter Hess, who will compete for the U.S. in freeski halpipe at the Winter Olympics, says he has mixed emotions about representing the U.S.<\/p>\n

(Michael Reaves \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

That drew a strong rebuke from President Trump, who took to social media to call Hess \u201ca real Loser.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe says he doesn\u2019t represent his Country in the current Winter Olympics,\u201d Trump wrote on Truth Social<\/a>. \u201cIf that\u2019s the case, he shouldn\u2019t have tried out for the Team, and it\u2019s too bad he\u2019s on it. Very hard to root for someone like this. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!\u201d<\/p>\n

That appears to be a minority view, however; as of Sunday, no U.S. Olympian in Italy has spoken in favor of the Trump administration or its policies. Shiffrin and Hess, on the other hand, were hardly alone in speaking against them.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of people say \u2018you\u2019re just an athlete. Stick to your job, shut up about politics,\u2019\u201d figure skater Amber Glenn, an outspoken proponent of LGBTQ rights, said at a news conference last week. \u201cBut politics affect us all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Following her comments, Glenn said she received threats online.<\/p>\n

The U.S. Olympic committee did not respond to emails seeking comment, but the USOPC\u2019s guidelines<\/a> allow for athletes to express themselves.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee values the expression of Team USA athletes and believes their right to advocate for racial and social justice, and to be a positive force for change, absolutely aligns with the fundamental values of equality that define Team USA and the Olympic and Paralympic movements,\u201d the organization states on its website.<\/p>\n

Those guidelines support freedom of expression in news conferences and media interviews, provided those comments do not directly target individuals or groups.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m racing for an American people who stand for love, for acceptance, for compassion, honesty and respect for others. I do not stand for hate or violence or discrimination,\u201d cross-country skier Jessie Diggins wrote on Instagram.<\/p>\n

Chris Lillis, a freestyle skier who appeared at the same news conference as Hess, said he was honored to represent the U.S. and \u201cwould never want to represent a different country in the Olympics.\u201d<\/p>\n

But then, speaking about the ICE activities in Minneapolis, he said \u201cI feel heartbroken about what\u2019s happened in the United States. As a country we need to focus on respecting everybody\u2019s rights and making sure that we\u2019re treating our citizens, as well as anybody, with love and respect.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope that when people look at athletes competing in the Olympics,\u201d he continued, \u201cthey realize that that\u2019s the America we\u2019re trying to represent.\u201d<\/p>\n

That message appears to have gotten through. During the parade of nations at Friday\u2019s opening ceremony, the U.S. team received a warm welcome. But when Vice President JD Vance was shown on the stadium\u2019s videoboard, he was booed.<\/p>\n

The next day a spectator at the figure skating venue displayed a U.S. flag whose stars and stripes were partially covered with a message. \u201cApologies to the world for our bad behavior,\u201d it read. \u201cWe will fix ourselves!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MILAN\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Mikaela Shiffrin has generally let her performances do the talking during a career that has seen her win…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":169704,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[6948,7363,81410,81411,81408,48,52,51,81409,47,50,49,81406,7529,81407,592,22664,51333,1519,2281,42202],"class_list":["post-169703","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-athlete","tag-country","tag-expression","tag-guideline","tag-hess","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-lgbtq-right","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news","tag-mikaela-shiffrin","tag-news-conference","tag-olympic-comment","tag-people","tag-politic","tag-respect","tag-trump","tag-u-s","tag-value"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169703","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=169703"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169703\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/169704"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=169703"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=169703"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=169703"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}