"U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday said that it is hard to cheer for American Olympians who are speaking out against administration policies, calling one such critic "a real Loser" who perhaps should have stayed home. It was the latest and most prominent example of U.S. Olympians at the Milan Cortina Games inviting online backlash with their words. Reporters on Friday asked U.S. athletes at a news conference how they feel representing the country during the Trump administration's heighted immigration enforcement actions."
""If it aligns with my moral values, I feel like I'm representing it," Hess said. "Just because I'm wearing the flag doesn't mean I represent everything that's going on in the U.S." Among those who piled on Hess were YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul. "From all true Americans If you don't want to represent this country go live somewhere else," he wrote on X, where he has 4.4 million followers."
"Trump said the next day that Hess' comments make it hard to root for him. "Hess, a real Loser, says he doesn't represent his Country in the current Winter Olympics. If that's the case, he shouldn't have tried out for the Team, and it's too bad he's on it," he wrote on his Truth Social account. Hess wasn't the only athlete voicing discontent - or facing blowback."
U.S. Olympic athletes at the Milan Cortina Games expressed mixed feelings about representing the country amid intensified immigration enforcement. Freestyle skier Hunter Hess said he represents values that align with his morals and that wearing the flag does not mean representing everything happening in the U.S. Some public figures, including Jake Paul, responded by urging athletes who disagree to leave the country. President Trump condemned Hess on Truth Social, calling him "a real Loser" and saying he should not have tried out for the team. Other athletes, including Chris Lillis, also voiced heartbreak over immigration enforcement actions.
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