Milan is the place to be right now. Alongside Cortina d’Ampezzo, the two Italian cities are hosting the 2026 Winter Olympics, and the mood is supposed to be one of celebration — talent on display, joy shared across borders. That spirit, however, didn’t extend to everyone.
Vice President J.D. Vance attended the event with Team USA, and when the live feed cut to him in the stands, a chorus of boos rained down on the VP and Second Lady Usha Vance standing beside him. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation captured the moment, with one broadcaster remarking on just how brutal the reception was.
Then something telling happened. As soon as the camera shifted from Vance to the Team USA athletes, the boos instantly turned into cheers. The crowd made its distinction clear. And with that, Vance lost the easy spin that the reaction was simply anti-American sentiment from a European audience. This wasn’t about the athletes — it was about the administration.
Earlier in the day, according to Newsweek, Vance had met with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. The two reportedly discussed “events that tell about values that keep together Italy and the U.S.” and the idea of “Western civilization.” Meloni is one of the few European leaders who maintains warm relations with Donald Trump and has even been reported to support his administration’s controversial rhetoric about acquiring Greenland.
That alignment, however, doesn’t mean Italy itself is receptive to Trump — or to his vice president. The crowd’s sharply different reactions to Vance and the athletes suggest people are perfectly capable of separating politicians from citizens. While the exact reason for the hostility toward Vance isn’t explicitly clear, it certainly doesn’t help that Trump recently referred to himself as “the president of Europe.”
When asked about the boos by a Fox News reporter, Trump brushed them off. “That’s surprising because people like him,” the president said. “Well, I mean, he is in a foreign country, you know, in all fairness. He doesn’t get booed in this country.”
REPORTER: “The vice president got booed during the opening ceremony. What do you make of that frosty reception?”
— Fox News (@FoxNews) February 7, 2026
PRESIDENT TRUMP: “That's surprising because people like him. Well, I mean, he is in a foreign country, you know, in all fairness. He doesn't get booed in this… pic.twitter.com/3P5kkkKA41
Oddly enough, the latest spin from conservative circles is that the reports of the boos were “fake news.” Some right-wing influencers took to X claiming that the cheers directed at Team USA extended to Vance as well. But many users quickly pushed back, pointing out that the boos were clearly audible — the crowd had simply been precise about who they were for.
Are you sick? They cheered the team and booed JD big time!
— HighFive (@ThewayImakeyou) February 7, 2026
You idiots need to understand what the rest of the world thinks of your administration
Vance wasn’t the only official to face hostility. Some reports indicate that Israeli delegates were met with similar reactions. Across Europe, Israeli sports teams have received mixed receptions in the wake of the Gaza war, which only recently reached a ceasefire.
As things stand, Vance may find it difficult to imagine a future in global leadership that extends beyond Trump’s presidency. His unpopularity in Europe is hard to ignore. And despite Trump’s increasingly combative posture toward the region, Europe remains one of America’s key allies and its largest trading partner.
While social media spin can help save face. It rarely changes how people actually feel on the ground.
