Olympic skier Hunter Hess fires back after Donald Trump criticized his comments about representing Team USA, as fellow athletes rally behind him.
Olympic skier Hunter Hess has moved quickly to respond after President Donald Trump criticized remarks Hess made about feeling “mixed” emotions toward representing the United States at the Winter Olympics.
Hess’s comments came in an interview when he was asked what it felt like to be part of Team USA.. “Mixed emotions” was the key phrase, with Hess explaining that there is a lot happening in the U.S.. that he does not connect with fully—and that he believes other people feel similarly.. For him, wearing the flag does not automatically mean endorsing everything happening at home.
Trump’s reply was sharp.. On Truth Social. he called Hess a “real loser” and suggested the skier “shouldn’t have tried out for the team” if his views were the way he described.. Hess’s answer on social media followed soon after. framing the issue around love for the country and the right to speak honestly—without confusing national pride with agreement on every political headline.
That distinction—between loyalty and critique—has become the emotional center of a larger debate spilling beyond the slopes and arenas.. In a moment when athletes are expected to embody unity. Hess’s willingness to say the quiet part out loud puts him at odds with the idea that representation requires silence.. His response. emphasizing freedom and the ability to point out problems. also reframes the controversy as part of a wider civic conversation rather than a rejection of national identity.
Fellow athletes have added their voices, suggesting Hess isn’t alone in feeling conflicted.. During the same media window. skier Chris Lillis said he would never want to represent another country and called himself someone who loves the U.S.. At the same time. he described heartbreak over what he sees happening. arguing that citizens deserve respect and that communities should treat one another with love—language that reads like a plea for the country to lower the temperature rather than escalate it.
Snowboarders Bea Kim and Maddie Mastro also weighed in. with pride in wearing the flag while acknowledging the country feels deeply divided.. Two-time gold medalist Chloe Kim delivered a particularly personal note. tying the issue to her family background as the daughter of immigrants.. She said moments like this require people to “unite” and support one another, while also defending athletes’ right to speak.. In her view. the Olympics may be a stage for sport. but it does not erase the reality that athletes live inside the society they represent.
Other competitors expanded the lens even further.. Eileen Gu, who was born in the U.S.. but competes for China, took aim at the way politics can swallow Olympic storylines.. She criticized headlines that eclipse the Games, arguing they run counter to what the Olympics are supposed to represent.. In a different way. that message echoes Hess’s: sport should not be forced to carry the full weight of national conflict—but athletes cannot pretend the world outside the venue does not exist.
The backlash is not limited to one discipline or one athlete.. American figure skater Amber Glenn has faced intense criticism tied to her identity; Glenn identifies as pansexual and has described the LGBTQIA+ community as going through a “hard time” under the current political climate.. She said those comments brought a “scary amount” of hate and threats, which has lowered her excitement for the Games.. Glenn’s comments underscore how this kind of controversy can become more than media drama—turning into personal risk and emotional strain even when athletes are simply trying to compete.
For Team USA. the immediate impact is clear: the Olympics are no longer just about results and storylines. but also about who gets to define what “representing” means.. For athletes, the calculus is complicated.. Speak up and risk backlash; stay quiet and feel complicit; carry public pressure while also needing focus to perform at the highest level.. Hess’s response—and the support from other Olympians—signals that more athletes may choose the third path: pride in country. paired with a refusal to pretend politics and identity are separate from sport.
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