President Donald Trump did not sit idly by when U.S. Olympic skier Hunter Hess said he had “mixed emotions” about representing the U.S. at the 2026 Games.
The president responded with a scathing post on Truth Social Sunday morning, per Mediaite.
“U.S. Olympic Skier, Hunter Hess, a real Loser, says he doesn’t represent his Country in the current Winter Olympics,” Trump wrote. “If that’s the case, he shouldn’t have tried out for the Team, and it’s too bad he’s on it. Very hard to root for someone like this. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
In a Friday news conference, Hess and fellow U.S. skier Chris Lillis spoke out against ICE tactics.
“It brings up mixed emotions to represent the U.S. right now, I think,” Hess said, as Fox News reported. “It’s a little hard. There’s obviously a lot going on that I’m not the biggest fan of, and I think a lot of people aren’t.
“I think, for me, it’s more I’m representing my friends and family back home, the people that represented it before me, all the things that I believe are good about the U.S.,” he continued. “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.”
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Lillis added about treating U.S. citizens “with love and respect.”
“I feel heartbroken about what’s happening in the United States … ICE, and some of the protests, and things like that. I think that 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,” Lillis said.
