Vice President JD Vance suggested that American-born skier Eileen Gu should be competing for the U.S., as she racks up medals while competing for China in the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Vance said during a Tuesday interview with Fox News that he has “no idea” what Gu’s status “should be,” but that he hoped American citizens would choose to compete for the U.S. on the world stage.
“I certainly think that somebody who grew up in the United States of America, who benefited from our education system, from the freedoms and liberties that make this country a great place, I would hope that they want to compete with the United States of America,” Vance said.
“So, I’m going to root for American athletes. I think part of that is people who identify themselves as Americans. That’s who I’m rooting for in this Olympics.”
The 22-year-old freestyle skier has won two silver medals in 2026, adding to her collection of two Gold and one silver medals from the 2022 games in Beijing. Even though she is the most decorated female Olympic freestyle skier, Gu’s citizenship has been a point of contention. Gu was born and raised in San Francisco and attended Stanford, but has competed in both Olympics representing China, where her mother is from.
Her reasoning behind that decision is that she wants to help make the sport more mainstream in China, since the U.S. “already has the representation,” she told Time Magazine.
The International Olympic Committee requires athletes to be citizens of the nations they represent, noting on its site that a “competitor who is a national of two or more countries at the same time may represent either one of them.”
However, China does not recognize dual citizenship and Gu has declined to comment on her citizenship status.
“I have no idea what her status should be,” Vance said on Fox. “I think that’s ultimately up to the Olympics Committee, I won’t pretend to wade into that.”
Vance appeared in Milan for the Winter Olympics opening ceremony — and was promptly booed after appearing on stadium screens.
Commentators made note of the shift from applause for the American athletes to boos after the vice president and his wife, Usha Vance, appeared on camera.
“There’s the vice president and his wife, Usha; those are not, oh, those are a lot of boos for him,” one commentator said on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s coverage.
