It was the latest and most high-profile example of American Olympians at the Milan Cortina Games sparking reactions online with their words.
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On Friday, reporters asked American athletes at a news conference how they feel about representing the country during the Trump administration’s intense immigration enforcement efforts. Freestyle skier Hunter Hess responded that he had mixed emotions as he doesn’t agree with the situation and that he is in Milan competing on behalf of everyone who helped him get to the Games.
“If it aligns with my moral values, I feel like I’m representing it,” Hess said. “Just because I carry the flag doesn’t mean it represents everything that happens in the United States.”
Among those who attacked Hess was YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul.
“On behalf of all true Americans. If you don’t want to represent this country, go live somewhere else,” he wrote on X, where he has 4.4 million followers. Minutes later, he was photographed sitting next to US Vice President JD Vance at the US women’s hockey game in the Olympic host city of Milan.
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Trump said the next day that Hess’ comments make it difficult to support him.
“Hess, a real loser, says he doesn’t represent his country at the current Winter Olympics. If that’s the case, he shouldn’t have tried out for the team, and it’s a shame he’s on it,” he wrote on his Truth Social account.
Hess was not the only athlete to express displeasure or face backlash.
At Friday’s news conference with athletes, freestyle skier Chris Lillis referenced Immigration and Customs Enforcement and said he is “heartbroken” by what is happening in the U.S.
“I think as a country we need to focus on respecting everyone’s rights and making sure we treat our citizens, as well as anyone, with love and respect,” Lillis said. “I hope that when people see the athletes competing in the Olympics, they realize that this is the country we are trying to represent.”
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And American figure skater Amber Glenn said the LGBTQ+ community has had a tough time during the Trump administration.
In addition to Paul, conservative figures criticizing athletes on social media include former NFL quarterback Brett Favre, actor Rob Schneider and U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, whom Trump endorsed for Florida’s governor’s race in November. And there was an avalanche of vitriol directed at them from ordinary Americans.
Glenn posted on Instagram that he had received “a terrifying amount of hate and threats for simply using my voice WHEN ASKED how I feel.” He added that he will begin to limit the use of social media for his well-being.
In response to questions from The Associated Press, the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee said in a statement Sunday that it is aware of a growing number of abusive and harmful messages directed at athletes and was doing everything it could to remove content and report credible threats to authorities.
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“The USOPC strongly supports Team USA athletes and remains committed to their well-being and safety, both on and off the field of play,” he said.
Protests against ICE in Italy
Support for the United States abroad has eroded as the Trump administration has taken an aggressive foreign policy stance, including punitive tariffs, military action in Venezuela and threats to invade Greenland.
During the opening ceremony, Team USA athletes were cheered, but boos and whistles were heard as Vance and his wife, second lady Usha Vance, appeared on stadium screens, waving American flags from the stands.
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In Milan, several demonstrations have broken out against the local deployment of ICE agents, even after clarifying that they belong to an investigations unit that is completely separate from the law enforcement unit leading the immigration crackdown in the US.
Homeland Security Investigations, an ICE unit that focuses on cross-border crimes, frequently sends its agents to overseas events such as the Olympics to help with security. The arm of ICE seen on the streets of the United States is known as Enforcement and Removal Operations, and there is no indication that its agents have been sent to Italy. – I think this graf can also be eliminated through the undergrowth.
A demonstration on Saturday featured thousands of protesters. Towards the end, a small number of them clashed with police, who fired tear gas and a water cannon. This was followed by another last week, when hundreds protested the deployment of ICE agents.
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Associated Press writer Graham Dunbar contributed to this report.
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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics