JD Vance at the 2026 Winter Olympics
Ahead of Friday’s opening ceremony, U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance is traveling to Milan, Italy, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, raising concerns about how the U.S. team’s Olympians will be received on the world stage.
milan — While 232 athletes will represent the United States at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina, many U.S. Olympians are experiencing “mixed emotions” as political instability and anxiety divide their home country.
“It’s a little tough. There’s obviously a lot going on that I’m not a big fan of,” American freestyle halfpipe skier Hunter Hess said Friday ahead of the opening ceremony. “Just because you’re flying the flag doesn’t mean it represents everything that’s going on in the United States.”
Like Hess, American aerial freestyle skier Chris Lillis feels conflicted about donning the red, white and blue. He told USA TODAY Sports that while he is “proud to represent our country,” he is “heartbroken” by the raids and crackdowns across the country by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Although he proves that joy and pride can coexist with uncertainty, Lillis said his participation should not be mistaken for complicity.
Get the Chasing Gold Olympic Newsletter in your inbox Interview your favorite Team USA athletes
“I love America, and I would never want to represent another country at the Olympics,” said Lillis, who won gold in mixed team aerials in Beijing 2022. “That being said, players are often hesitant to talk about their political views and how we feel about things. I’m heartbroken by what happened in America. … I think as a country we need to focus on respecting everyone’s rights and making sure we’re safe and treating everyone, not just our citizens, with love and respect.” ”
Lillis hopes to use the global platform provided by the 2026 Winter Olympics to go beyond the headlines and showcase “the America we are trying to represent.” It’s the same sentiment that American hockey player Hilary Knight brought to her fifth and final Olympics. She said the U.S. women’s national hockey team is “an American team in the best sense of the word” and chooses to embrace everything that is good about this country.
“What we stand for…we’re just going to continue to stand by it,” Knight said Thursday after Team USA’s 5-1 win over the Czech Republic in a preliminary game that included U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance. “No matter what political climate is going on, we’re just trying to make a positive impact through our play and obviously represent our country to the best of our ability. We’re proud Americans and there’s a great unity that we can find together through sports.”
After the short program of Friday’s team figure skating competition, reigning world champion Alisa Liu said U.S. Olympians have an opportunity to “show what the American people are and who we are.”
Liu, who shares anti-ICE messages on Instagram with her 354,000 followers, added: “We just want to share our stories because I think we’re all so unique and I think that’s the essence of it.”
The Olympics promote respect and inclusion through sport, and the motto that two-time Olympic medal-winning halfpipe freeskier Alex Ferreira would like to see adopted in the United States: “The Olympics are a symbol of peace, so let’s bring not only world peace but domestic peace within our own country.”
“Political division is so prevalent in the United States that competitive sports have always been a way to bring people together,” added Quinn Dillinger. “I think this is a great way to represent one country.”
Halfpipe freeskier Burke Irving said competing for the U.S. in his second competition was a “special experience,” representing his values and “the community of my home country and the community that gave me the opportunity to be here.”
Hess added, “I represent my friends and family back home, the people who have represented the United States before me, everything that I believe is good about America. I think if it aligns with my moral values, I just feel like I’m representing it.”
Follow CydHenderson on X @CydHenderson
Amber Glenn speaks about LGBTQ community at Olympics
Amber Glenn criticized the Trump administration and defended the LGBTQ community ahead of the Olympics. “This is something I can’t just sit on,” he said.
Get to the heart of the news quickly with the USA TODAY app. Download award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, e-newspapers, and more.
