NEW YORK – “Just because I wear the flag doesn’t mean it represents everything that happens in the United States.” When an American athlete feels the need to express discomfort for his country on a global stage like the Olympics, perhaps it would be time to start asking himself some questions. Maybe the administration will answer that Hunter Hessthe courageous person responsible for this distinction in the press conference, is just a democratic activist masquerading as a freestyle ski athlete. However, his words nip the defense of his deputy in the bud Vance made by Donald Trumpwhen they informed him of the boos at the opening ceremony of the Milan-Cortina Games (and the scene was repeated yesterday, at the hockey match between the US and Finnish women’s national teams): «Strange. He was in a foreign country. People like it here, they don’t get booed.” Not really, if even some national athletes share the reservations of the San Siro spectators.
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Trump often repeats that thanks to him the United States has become the “hottest” country in the world, but the cold weather on Friday evening visibly contradicted him. This was not lost on conservative newspapers like the Wall Street Journalwhich he headlined: “Team USA and Vance booed in icy reception at Italian Winter Olympics.” So the newspaper that will also belong to Rupert Murdochbut has always embodied the values of the republicans, he explained: «Italy has opened its arms to welcome the whole world. Well, almost the whole world. In a clear sign of how America’s vision in Europe is rapidly becoming blurred, the US delegation entered the San Siro stadium to a chorus of boos and disapproval from the international crowd of more than 65,000. The mockery increased when Vance appeared on the big screen during Team USA’s arrival. The only other team to receive similar treatment was Israel.”
Trump commented that the deputy is popular at home, but he is not popular among the same athletes who represent him. Chris Lillisalso a freestyler, gold in Beijing in 2022, said he loves the United States and “I would never want to represent” any other country at the Games. However, he admitted that he was “heartbroken”, answering a question about how he feels about what is happening in America: “Many times athletes are reluctant to talk about political opinions, but I feel destroyed by what is happening in the USA. If you’re talking about ICE, I think as a country we should focus on respecting everyone’s rights and making sure we treat our citizens as well as anyone else, with love and respect.” Then he added: “I hope that when people watch athletes compete in the Olympics, they understand that this is the America we are trying to represent.” Hess admitted that competing for his country “arouses mixed emotions. It’s a little difficult. There’s a lot going on that I don’t really like, and I think a lot of people don’t like. More than anything I’m here for my friends and family, all the things I think are good about the US. Just because I wear the flag doesn’t mean it represents everything that happens in the United States.”
Trump will say that he is an anti-Maga enemy of the people, like Bad Bunny or Green Day, who will sing during halftime tonight of a football Super Bowl that promises to be particularly hostile. So he will miss another opportunity to try to understand the extent of the damage and perhaps repair it. His administration has never given weight to soft power, which however is not so soft. A welcome like that reserved by Milan for Vance in other times struck autocratic countries or violators of human rights. During the Cold War one of the USA’s sharpest weapons was that of being admired. Maybe not always, given Vietnam, but often, while the USSR had to send tanks to Prague or Budapest to keep even its closest allies happy. Today the friends bend because the USA is powerful and rich, and Trump is unpredictable, but they do so with the resentment expressed by the international public in Milan. The president is now tasked with determining whether this is a long-term benefit to America.
date: 2026-02-08 00:04:00
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