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President Donald Trump reacted on Sunday after Team USA Olympic skier Hunter Hess sparked outrage over his comments about representing the country at the Milan Cortina Games.
Trump made a scathing post on social media, calling Hess a “real loser.”
“U.S. Olympic Skier, Hunter Hess, a real Loser, says he doesn’t represent his Country in the current Winter Olympics,” he wrote.
“If that’s the case, he shouldn’t have tried out for the Team, and it’s too bad he’s on it. Very hard to root for someone like this. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
“Miracle on Ice” star Mike Eruzione also took issue with Hess’ remarks. He wrote on X that Hess shouldn’t have put on the uniform if he felt the way he felt. The former men’s ice hockey Olympian later deleted his post.
Hess’ comments came as the Trump administration faced backlash over the use of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in illegal immigrant operations. An incident with ICE agents in January left one person dead in Minnesota. The woman was identified as Renee Good. Border Patrol agents also had a deadly encounter with Alex Pretti.
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Those incidents were apparently used as the catalyst for the comments from Hess, and his teammate Chris Lillis. Hess said he had “mixed emotions” about representing the U.S.
“It brings up mixed emotions to represent the U.S. right now, I think. 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,” Hess said.
“I think, for me, it’s more I’m representing my friends and family back home, the people that represented it before me, all the things that I believe are good about the U.S. If it aligns with my moral values, I feel like I’m representing it. Just because I’m wearing the flag doesn’t mean I represent everything that’s going on in the U.S.
“I just kind of want to do it for my friends and my family and the people that support me getting here.”
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Hess is competing in the men’s freeski halfpipe.
Fox News’ Paulina Dedaj contributed to this report.
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