U.S. President Donald Trump has criticised American freestyle skier Hunter Hess after the athlete said he felt conflicted about representing the United States at the Winter Olympics in Italy, sparking a public clash that highlights growing political tensions surrounding the Games.
Trump took aim at Hess in a post on his Truth Social platform on Sunday, saying the skier should not have tried out for the U.S. team if he did not feel he represented the country.
“If that’s the case, he shouldn’t have tried out for the Team, and it’s too bad he’s on it,” Trump wrote. “Very hard to root for someone like this.”
The comments came days after Hess spoke candidly during a press conference in Milan, where he described having “mixed emotions” about representing the U.S. amid ongoing political developments at home.
“I think it brings up mixed emotions to represent the U.S. right now,” Hess said.
“It’s a little hard. There’s obviously a lot going on that I’m not the biggest fan of,” Hess added.
The skier stressed that his decision to compete was rooted in personal values rather than political alignment.
“For me it’s more that I’m representing my friends and family back home, the people that supported me getting here,” he said, adding that wearing the national flag did not mean he endorsed everything happening in the country.
Political tensions have surfaced at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics more broadly, including controversy over the presence of personnel from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The agency has faced widespread protests in the United States following the fatal shootings of two people in Minneapolis last month during enforcement operations.
The episode underscores how domestic political divisions in the United States are increasingly spilling onto the international sporting stage, even as athletes seek to focus on competition rather than controversy.
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