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By Steve Mollman and Peter Aitken
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President Donald Trump reacted on Sunday to Hunter Hess, a U.S. freestyle skier at the Winter Olympics in Italy, saying this week that competing for the USA at this time brings up "mixed emotions," adding "it's a little hard."
Trump called out Hess, saying the Olympian "shouldn’t have tried out for the Team, and it’s too bad he’s on it."
Why It Matters
The Olympics occur at an unusual time for the United States, both domestically and abroad. President Donald Trump, in pursuit of his various policies and broader "America First" agenda, includes pursuing a nationwide deportation operation, which has prompted protests across the country, and threatening to bust up the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) over his desire to own Greenland or incorporate Canada as a new state.
Read More on News
Tensions have reached a fever pitch in the U.S. following last month's fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti, both American citizens, by federal agents. Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have criticized the consequences of the White House's immigration crackdown, while several celebrities at last week's Grammy Awards referenced the federal operations in their acceptance speeches or wore pins with the words "ICE Out."
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What To Know
On Friday, Hess and fellow U.S. Olympic skier Chris Lillis responded to the tension in the U.S. over ICE operations. Lillis said he was "heartbroken about what's happening in the United States," adding, "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."
"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."
Trump responded on Truth Social on Sunday, writing that "U.S. Olympic Skier, Hunter Hess, a real Loser, says he doesn’t represent his Country in the current Winter Olympics."
"If that’s the case, he shouldn’t have tried out for the Team, and it’s too bad he’s on it," the president continued. "Very hard to root for someone like this. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"
Trump's post follows his comments on Friday in response to Vice President JD Vance being greeted by a mix of boos and applause at the Winter Olympics’ opening ceremony in Milan, earlier that day.
“That’s surprising because people like him,” Trump said. “He’s in a foreign country, in all fairness...He doesn’t get booed in this country.”
Did ICE Go to the Olympics?
Protesters gathered outside of the U.S. Embassy in Milan earlier this week to reject ICE, especially following reports that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) would deploy a contingent of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents to the Olympics to "vet and mitigate risks" during the games.
HSI focuses on international crime and trafficking across the world and is not the same unit as ICE. The deployment itself is not unusual, but it stirred up anger because of the close association with ICE activity in the United States.
The Department of Homeland Security said, "All security operations remain under Italian authority," in a statement echoed by Italian authorities.
Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi this week assured that HSI would only operate within U.S. diplomatic missions, adding that officials are "not operational agents" and "have no executive function," according to Al-Jazeera.
What People Are Saying
Senator Mike Lee, a Utah Republican, on X: "If you can’t stand up for your country while abroad—at the Olympics or otherwise, stay home."
Conservative influencer Emily Austin on X on Saturday: "Any athlete embarrassed to represent the United States has no business wearing Team USA across their chest. Representing this country is an honor. If you don’t love America, step aside, someone who does will gladly take your place."
Vice President JD Vance, speaking to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, on Friday: “In the spirit of the Olympics friendship, competition — competition based on rules — and just coming together around shared values, we’re very, very thrilled to be here, and we’ll have a great conversation about number of topics."
Update 2/8/26, 1:30 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.
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