Donald Trump has branded US Olympian Hunter Hess as a "real loser" after he suggested that he felt "mixed emotions" about representing his country at the Winter Games.
The 27-year-old freestyle skier claimed that it was a "little hard" to be representing the US team in Milan-Cortina amid the political turmoil back at home, leading to a typically combative response from the President on social media.
Hess said at a press conference: "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 my family back home... all the things that I believe are good about the United States.
"Just because I wear the flag, it doesn't mean I represent everything that is going on in the US. I just kind of want to do it for my friends and my family for the people that support me getting here."
Trump took to his Truth Social platform on Sunday (08.02.26) to state that Hess' comments had made it "hard to root for" him to be successful at the Winter Olympics.
The White House chief wrote: "US Olympic Skier, Hunter 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."
Trump added: "Very hard to root for someone like this. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"
Meanwhile, Hess' team-mate Chris Lillis explained that he was "heartbroken" about the Trump administration's aggressive anti-immigration rhetoric following the deaths of protesters Renee Good and Alex Pretti at the hands of federal agents in Minneapolis last month.
He said: "A lot of times, athletes are hesitant to talk about political views and how we feel about things. I feel heartbroken about what's happening in the United States.
"I'm pretty sure you're referencing ICE and some of the protests and things like that. I think that as a country, we need to focus on representing everybody's rights and making sure that we're treating our citizens as well as anybody, with love and respect."
