Hunter Hess, of the United States, executes a trick in the halfpipe finals during the World Cup U.S. Grand Prix freestyle skiing event in Copper Mountain, Colo., Dec. 17, 2022. (AP Photo/Hugh Carey, File)2026-02-08T19:58:04Z MILAN (AP) U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday said that it is hard to cheer for American Olympians who are speaking out against administration policies, calling one such critic a real Loser who perhaps should have stayed home. It was the latest and most prominent example of U.S. Olympians at the Milan Cortina Games inviting online backlash with their words.Reporters on Friday asked U.S. athletes at a news conference how they feel representing the country during the Trump administrations heighted immigration enforcement actions. Freestyle skier Hunter Hess replied that he had mixed emotions since he doesnt agree with the situation, and that he is in Milan competing on behalf of everyone who helped get him to The Games.If it aligns with my moral values, I feel like Im representing it, Hess said. Just because Im wearing the flag doesnt mean I represent everything thats going on in the U.S. Among those who piled on Hess were YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul.From all true Americans If you dont want to represent this country go live somewhere else, he wrote on X, where he has 4.4 million followers. Minutes later, he was photographed sitting beside U.S. Vice President JD Vance at the U.S womens hockey game in Olympic host city Milan. Trump said the next day that Hess comments make it hard to root for him. Hess, a real Loser, says he doesnt represent his Country in the current Winter Olympics. If thats the case, he shouldnt have tried out for the Team, and its too bad hes on it, he wrote on his Truth Social account. Hess wasnt the only athlete voicing discontent or facing blowbackAt Fridays news conference with the athletes, freestyle skier Chris Lillis referenced Immigration and Customs Enforcement, saying hes heartbroken about what is happening in the U.S.I think that, as a country, we need to focus on respecting everybodys rights and making sure that were treating our citizens as well as anybody, with love and respect, Lillis said. I hope that when people look at athletes compete in the Olympics, they realize that thats the America that were trying to represent. And U.S. figure skater Amber Glenn said the LGBTQ+ community has had a hard time during the Trump administration. In addition to Paul, conservative figures criticizing the athletes on social media include former NFL quarterback Brett Favre, actor Rob Schneider and U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds who Trump has endorsed for the Florida gubernatorial race in November. And there was a flood of vitriol directed at them from ordinary Americans. Glenn posted on Instagram that she had received a scary amount of hate / threats for simply using my voice WHEN ASKED about how I feel. She added that she will start limiting her social media use for her well-being.In response to questions from The Associated Press, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee said in a statement Sunday that it is aware of an increasing amount of abusive and harmful messages directed toward the athletes and was doing its best to remove content and report credible threats to law enforcement.The USOPC stands firmly behind Team USA athletes and remains committed to their well-being and safety, both on and off the field of play, it said. Anti-ICE protests in ItalySupport for the U.S. abroad has eroded as the Trump administration has pursued an aggressive posture on foreign policy, including punishing tariffs, military action in Venezuela and threats to invade Greenland.During the opening ceremony, Team USA athletes were cheered on, but jeers and whistles could be heard as Vance and his wife, second lady Usha Vance, were shown on the stadium screens, waving American flags from the tribune.In Milan, several demonstrations have broken out against the against the local deployment of ICE agents even after clarification that they are from an investigations unit that is completely separate from the enforcement unit at the forefront of the immigration crackdown in the U.S.Homeland Security Investigations, an ICE unit that focuses on cross-border crimes, frequently sends its officers to overseas events like the Olympics to assist with security. The ICE arm seen in the streets of the U.S. is known as Enforcement and Removal Operations, and there is no indication its officers were sent to Italy. - I think this graf can be deleted, too in the weeds A demonstration on Saturday featured thousands of protesters. Toward its end, a small number of them clashed with police, who fired tear gas and a water cannon. That followed another one last week, when hundreds protested the deployment of ICE agents.___Associated Press writer Graham Dunbar contributed to this report. ___AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics FERNANDA FIGUEROA Figueroa reports on Latino/Hispanic affairs as a member of the APs Race & Ethnicity team. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site