JD Vance wants U.S. Olympians to eschew their First Amendment rights and stop being mean about his boss by “popping off” about politics.
Standing before the traveling press corps in Azerbaijan on Wednesday, the vice president offered some unsolicited advice to American athletes representing the country at the Winter Olympics in Italy.
“Yes, you’re going to have some Olympic athletes who pop off about politics. I feel like that happens every Olympics. My advice to them would be to try to bring the country together. And when you’re representing the country, you’re representing Democrats and Republicans, you’re there to play a sport and you’re there to represent your country and hopefully win a medal. You’re not there to pop off about politics,” he said.
MAGA has been particularly irate with Team USA’s Hunter Hess. Michael Reaves/Getty Images
On the subject of President Trump calling American freestyle skier Hunter Hess a “real loser” after he blasted the Trump administration, the VP said the 79-year-old’s petty reaction should be “expected.”
“So when Olympic athletes enter the political arena, they should expect some pushback,” he told reporters. “Most Olympic athletes, whatever their politics, are doing a great job, or certainly enjoy the support of the entire country, and I think recognize that the way to bring the country together is not to show up in a foreign country and attack the President of the United States, but it’s to play your sport and represent the country well.”
Trump lashed out at the 27-year-old after he admitted to having “mixed emotions” about representing the United States at the Winter Olympics, adding to a growing number of Team USA athletes who have spoken out against the administration’s policies.
Peter Kneffel/POOL/PA Images via Getty Images
Vance, who was in Azerbaijan via Armenia to help advance a U.S.-brokered deal aimed at ending a decades-long conflict between the two countries, had also been in Milan with his wife, Usha, at the Olympics. Vance was booed when the screen showed him during the opening ceremony.
He claimed this was to be expected and that it was exaggerated by the media.
“Well, look, I had a great time at the Olympics, and I think the media made much ado about nothing with the fact that, yes, in a crowd of 30,000 people, there were certainly some people who disagreed with my policies or the policies of the administration, but I felt like the people of Milan were great,” he explained.
