Trump criticizes 'loser' Team USA skier Hunter Hess over press conference comments
"It brings up mixed emotions to represent the U.S. right now," Hess said.
President Donald Trump said Sunday that it's “very hard to root for someone” like “loser” Team USA freestyle skier Hunter Hess, who last week told reporters that he has "mixed emotions" about representing the U.S. at the Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina, Italy.
“U.S. 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. Very hard to root for someone like this,” Trump wrote on his social media platform.
The White House had no immediate comment on the president's social media post.
At a Team USA Freeski Team press conference before the opening ceremonies in Italy Friday, Hess said that “it brings up mixed emotions to represent the U.S. right now.”
“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, in response to a reporter's question to the team about "what it means to wear Team USA and the American flag in the hopes of trying to bring some unity" to the U.S. in the midst of ongoing domestic tensions.
"I think for me it's more I'm representing my friends and family back home and the people that represented before me and all the things that I believe are good about the U.S.," Hess continued. "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.”
There have been protests in Italy surrounding the Games, some of them spurred by unsubstantiated reports that the U.S. would send Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to the Games to assist with security. In response, Tilman J. Fertitta, U.S. Ambassador to Italy and San Marino, said in a statement last week that personnel from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) – the investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security, which also oversees ICE – would be present at the Games in a "strictly advisory and intelligence-based" role, "with no patrolling or enforcement involvement."
"All security operations will remain the responsibility of Italian authorities," the statement further said.
At the same press conference, Team USA freestyle skier Chris Lillis also expressed mixed emotions in response to the same question.
"I feel heartbroken about what's happening in the United States," Lillis said, in part. "I think that as a country, we need to focus on respecting everybody's rights and making sure that we're treating our citizens, as well as anybody, with love and respect. I hope that when people look at athletes competing in the Olympics, they realize that's the America that we're trying to represent."
ABC News' Luke Barr and Christopher Watson contributed to this report.
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