Audience Boos JD Vance As Olympic Athletes Stand Against Trump
It's a definite vibe shift. In spite of Olympic officials begging the audience not to boo VP JD Vance, they booed him. Some Olympic athletes even spoke out about what’s happening in America.
There are significant cracks in the plastic artifice of authoritarianism.
The Winter Olympics opened on Friday in Italy, and even though IOC President Kirsty Coventry had begged fans not to boo the U.S. Vice President on Friday, the fans did not listen.
They even managed nuance, cheering for the US athletes, but booing the authoritarian VP and his wife.
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“There’s the Vice President and his wife Usha … Oops, those are not, those are a lot of boos for him, whistling, jeering, some applause. Not a long shot of him.”
Watch a short clip of a Canadian news outlet here because yes, there are reports that NBC “appears” to have cut the sounds of crowds booing Vance from their broadcast. It happened. Watch and listen:
Then, Team USA skiers Christopher Lillis and Hunter Hess spoke out against what’s happening in our country.
Watch here:
Lillis said he loved the U.S. and would never want to ski for another country in the Olympics, but he’s heartbroken over what’s going on in the US right now.
“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,” aerials specialist Chris Lillis said in a video posted by USA Today Sports.
“I’m pretty sure you’re referencing ICE and some of the protests and things like that… I think as a country we need to focus on respecting everybody’s rights and making sure that we’re treating our citizens and as well as anybody with love and respect.”
Freestyle skier Hunter Hess said, “It brings up mixed emotions to represent the US right now… There’s obviously a lot going on that I’m not the biggest fan of and I think a lot of people aren’t. Just because I wear the flag doesn’t mean I represent everything that’s going on in the US.”
It matters that our athletes are seen speaking up against the brutality of the Trump regime, precisely because this is happening on the international stage. The world must know that we do not consent and they must be made aware of what’s happening here, in our streets, to our citizens and to people who are not criminals.
The Fire Started Before the Games
Other Olympic athletes were speaking out before the games.
