US President Donald Trump has offered his response after Team USA skiers Chris Lillis and Hunter Hess spoke out against ICE (US Immigration and Customs Enforcement) operations in their home nation.
The 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics is well underway following Friday’s (February 6) opening ceremony during which US Vice President JD Vance was booed by spectators at the San Siro in Milan.
And despite Trump not being present in Italy, his presidency remains a controversial topic among the athletes.
Skiers Lillis and Hess both spoke to the media ahead of the opening ceremony, with the pair voicing their concerns about representing the US as ICE operations continue to sweep the nation.
Hess, who is appearing at his first games, revealed that he is feeling “mixed emotions” about representing the US in Milan.
“It brings up mixed emotions to represent the U.S. right now, I think,” said the 27-year-old.
“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. 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.
“I just kind of want to do it for my friends and my family and the people that support me getting here.”
ICE is responsible for enforcing US immigrations laws as well as managing the detention and removal of undocumented immigrants.
The force has been heavily criticised over the past month following the death of US citizens Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good, after both were shot dead by agents in Minneapolis in January.
And not everyone has taken kindly to Hess’ comments, including Jake Paul, who hit out on social media on Saturday (February 7).
“Wow pls shut the f*** up,” Paul wrote. “From all true Americans
“If you don’t want to represent this country, go live somewhere else.”
Donald Trump gave his thoughts (Credit:Getty)
Trump has since responded to Hess’ comments via Truth Social, and it’s fair to say he is not best pleased with the athlete.
“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!”
