The 232 American athletes competing at the Winter Games have dedicated years to training, traveled thousands of miles, and are poised to deliver their best performances on the ice and slopes. Yet, politics, as it often does, is inevitably encroaching upon their Olympic journey.
The Games commenced following a year marked by the Trump administration’s denigration of Europe, threats against allies, and the initiation of a trade war. The widespread opposition to President Trump’s domestic and international policies has trailed the U.S. team to northern Italy, compelling athletes, coaches, and American fans to either confront or sidestep the resulting backlash.
Some of this dissent manifested during the opening ceremony in Milan on Friday night. A chorus of jeers and boos resonated through the San Siro stadium when Vice President JD Vance briefly appeared on the large screens as the U.S. team paraded in, waving American flags.
Initially, Phillip DiGuglielmo, coach for U.S. figure skater Alysa Liu, who was seated in the stands, mistook the boos for disapproval directed at the athletes.
“It was supposed to be the pinnacle of my life to see my athlete walk into the stadium, but it turned into a really sad moment for me,” said Mr. DiGuglielmo, whose grandparents immigrated to the United States from Italy. “I felt like, hey, the athletes don’t deserve this.”
He later learned that the boos were aimed at Mr. Vance, but he still worried that some athletes might have heard the jeers instead of the applause.
Zach Werenski, a defenseman for the U.S. men’s hockey team, was in the stadium but only later learned of the boos through social media. He had met Mr. Vance earlier that day. “He’s a proud American and he wants all the athletes here to show well for our country and that’s our goal,” Mr. Werenski said.
A spectator at a figure skating event in Milan on Saturday held a banner of the United States flag with a message of apology.
Mr. Werenski affirmed his commitment to staying focused on his sport. “I just try and block all that out,” he said.
The International Olympic Committee strives to present the Games as neutral territory where athletes can compete “without being held back by the politics or divisions of their governments,” as Kirsty Coventry, the I.O.C. president, stated at the opening ceremony.
However, athletes, by wearing their national colors and emblems, inherently become symbols of their nations’ values. This reality leaves Americans in Italy grappling with the strong emotions evoked by Trump administration policies.
Last week, news that investigative agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would join a State Department security team at the Olympics sparked anger among Italians, who were incensed by recent actions of federal agents in Minneapolis. A protest involving several hundred people on Friday featured a large anti-ICE banner proclaiming, “Milan despises you.”
The resulting uproar prompted the American figure skating, hockey, and speedskating federations to swiftly rename a hospitality venue for athletes in Milan from “Ice House” to “Winter House.”
Inside the newly christened venue on Saturday, Annie White, chief marketing officer for U.S. Figure Skating, remarked that she never “thought the surface we skate on would potentially become a polarizing word.”
Jeers and boos could be heard as Vice President JD Vance appeared on huge screens just as the delegation of athletes from the United States paraded onto the stadium floor.
Mr. Vance, who traveled to Italy with his wife, Usha Vance, and their children, held a meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Friday but deliberately avoided public political discussions during his visit. He and his family attended a figure skating team event in Milan, where Evan Lysacek, a 2010 Olympic champion skater accompanying the vice president, noted that Mr. Vance’s daughter enjoyed the fashion, and his two sons “mostly wanted to make sure that America is going to win.”
As of Sunday morning, no member of the U.S. team in Italy had publicly voiced support for the Trump administration. U.S. Olympic committee guidelines permit athletes to advocate for social and racial justice but advise against engaging in partisan politics.
Nonetheless, many American Olympians have been confronted with questions about what it means to represent the United States.
Hunter Hess, a skier from Bend, Ore., expressed to reporters that he had “mixed emotions,” adding: “There’s obviously a lot going on that I’m not the biggest fan of.” This comment drew a fierce reaction from Mr. Trump, who labeled Mr. Hess “a real Loser” in a post on his social media site, Truth Social, on Sunday. “Very hard to root for someone like this,” Mr. Trump declared.
In an interview last week within the Olympic Village in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Summer Britcher, a luger from New York competing in her fourth Olympics, stated: “I just stay focused on the fact that there are a lot of really good people at home who I am proud to represent.”
When a Norwegian journalist posed a similar question to Mikaela Shiffrin, a three-time Olympic medalist skier, at a news conference in Cortina on Saturday, she paused for a few seconds.
Ms. Shiffrin ultimately declared it “an honor and privilege” to compete for her country, then read from prepared remarks quoting Nelson Mandela, emphasizing her desire to represent “values of inclusivity, values of diversity and kindness.”
Some athletes are actively utilizing their platforms to advocate for their political beliefs. “I know that a lot of people say you’re just an athlete, like, stick to your job, shut up about politics, but politics affect us all,” Amber Glenn, the three-time U.S. national figure skating champion, told reporters on Wednesday.
Regarding the Trump administration’s policies concerning L.G.B.T.Q. Americans, Ms. Glenn, who is pansexual, firmly stated, “It is something that I will not just be quiet about.”
The skier Lindsey Vonn, a three-time Olympic medalist, was asked by a Canadian journalist on Tuesday about “everything going on in Minnesota.” She responded that the state is “where I grew up, and my heart is incredibly heavy for everyone at home.” She concluded: “We are more than what’s happening right now.”
A protest on Friday in Milan.
The Italian hosts of the Games, no strangers to their own turbulent political landscape, seem inclined to extend the athletes the benefit of the doubt. “We look at the United States with real, great concern,” said Barbara Barile, 57, who attended the opening ceremony in Milan. “We must distinguish between those who govern and those who are governed.”
Skepticism toward the United States is not new in Italy. Despite strong ties to the U.S., a strain of “anti-Americanism has been here for a long time,” noted Gregory Alegi, a historian at Luiss Guido Carli University in Rome.
The Italian political right “has never forgiven the U.S. for defeating Mussolini,” he explained, while on the left, “they’ve never forgiven the U.S. for winning the Cold War.”
Prime Minister Meloni’s supporters appreciate her efforts to maintain a close relationship with Mr. Trump. However, the recent conduct by ICE agents in Minneapolis has unified Italians against that specific aspect of the U.S. administration’s policies.
At a team figure skating event on Saturday night, numerous American flags waved from the stands. Yet, some American spectators, anticipating potential backlash, arrived in Italy intending to conceal their national identity.
Helen Wehner and her brother Andrew chose not to bring any American flag attire to the Games. However, shortly after their arrival, Ms. Wehner began to reconsider.
“Once you’re here you see that it’s really about the athletes,” she said. “I want the athletes to see they have some support.”
At a curling event on Friday in Cortina, the Wehners ultimately allowed an American volunteer to paint the stars and stripes on their cheeks.