As the Winter Olympics opened in Milan, Vice President JD Vance framed the games as a rare common bond, hailing the competition as “one of the few things that unites the entire country.” That message did not last long. Within the early days of the Milan Cortina Games, American athletes became pulled into a wider U.S. political fight over President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement policies—an issue that athletes said has increasingly reached beyond domestic politics and into international view.
The immediate spark came during a period when athletes were weighing how much politics to address while competing on the world stage. American freestyle skier Hunter Hess told reporters that he had “mixed emotions” over representing the United States. Hess said, “There’s obviously a lot going on that I’m not the biggest fan of and I think a lot of people aren’t,” adding that he would feel comfortable representing the country only if it matched his values, not simply because he was wearing the flag. He said, “If it aligns with my moral values, I feel like I’m representing it. Just because I’m wearing the flag doesn’t mean I represent everything that’s going on in the U.S.”
The remarks drew a fast response from Trump. After the criticism of an American Olympian by a U.S. president marked a sharp departure from the typically apolitical tone the White House often projects during the Games, Trump posted on social media that Hess was a “real loser” who “shouldn’t have tried out for the team.” Trump also wrote, “Very hard to root for someone like this,” further raising the stakes for an athlete whose comments had been aimed at the moral conflict he described.
Other conservative voices joined in the backlash as the episode spread beyond sports reporting. The dispute also fueled calls from some U.S. political figures for Hess to be removed from the team. In contrast, by Monday other American athletes who have previously faced political controversy were lining up to defend Hess. Chloe Kim, the two-time Olympic gold medalist, said, “In moments like these, it is really important for us to unite and kind of stand up for one another for all that’s going on,” while tying her remarks to her family background as South Korean immigrants and to experiences of racism connected to her Asian heritage.
Eileen Gu, the skier who competes for China, said she had been in contact with Hess and that he told her she was “one of the few people who could relate to what he’s going through.” Gu, who was born in San Francisco, has faced scrutiny tied to her decision to compete for China. She said she felt “sorry for the athletes” because she, too, has been “caught in the crossfire before,” and she framed Hess’s comments as something athletes should understand given their own political realities.
Other American athletes described the controversy in broader terms and centered their focus on rights and representation. Chris Lillis, another American freestyle skier, said he felt “heartbroken about what’s happening in the United States.” He added that, as a country, Americans “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,” and he said he hoped viewers would recognize “that’s the America that we’re trying to represent.”
The episode also highlighted a familiar tension for competitors: whether to stay out of politics or use their platforms when major news events and public arguments surround them. The Olympics have never been fully walled off from politics, from protests in past decades to the modern immediacy of social media that has made it easier for athletes to comment on events in real time. In Italy this year, the controversy was notable not only for what athletes said but for how quickly the debate turned into a direct exchange between a U.S. president and an Olympic competitor.
The Olympics’ broader landscape includes athletes who have taken stands during press moments and those who have chosen to limit their involvement. Amber Glenn, an American figure skater who is also an outspoken LGBTQ+ rights activist, said at a news conference that the queer community is going through a “hard time” under Trump. She later said she would step back from social media after receiving threats on the platform. Other competitors described how questions about U.S. politics can intrude on athletic events even when athletes would rather focus only on competition.
During last month’s Australian Open, American Amanda Anisimova said questions about U.S. politics were not “relevant,” and Taylor Fritz said he felt that “whatever I say here is going to get put in a headline and it’s going to get taken out of context.” Fritz said he would “rather not” create “a big distraction” while competing. At the Olympics, American speedskater Casey Dawson said athletes “definitely know the whole situation going on in the USA,” while also stating, “politics don’t apply to us” at the Games.
With the United States hosting more major global events in the coming years—along with Canada and Mexico hosting the World Cup, and the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles—the spotlight on U.S. athletes may intensify. Some athletes and observers said sports can still create a pathway for reducing friction, even when political disagreements remain. Ashleigh Huffman, the chief of sports diplomacy at the State Department during the Biden and first Trump administrations, said, “There’s this really magical thing that sport can do,” adding that it can “lower the temperature of the room.”