The Winter Olympics opening ceremony took place in Italy on Friday, and despite the International Olympic Committee’s president urging people to “be respectful of each other” ahead of the event when she was asked about the potential jeering of Americans, US vice president JD Vance and his wife Usha found themselves booed when they appeared on screen.
Even one commentator, in a clip widely circulated on X/Twitter, remarks that there is “a lot of boos” from the crowd when the Republican was caught on camera.
It’s the latest case of the Trump administration receiving a frosty reception from the public in recent months, after the US president was booed at the US Open in September, and again at the Commanders game in November.
And when Trump was heckled by a union worker in Michigan last month, he appeared to respond by saying “f*** you” and giving the employee in question the middle finger – a response the White House suggested was “appropriate”.
As for Vance’s reception at the Winter Olympics, X/Twitter users have criticised the vice president for ruining the reputation of the US “on the global stage”:
A friend of journalist Peter Hamby, who was in the stadium at the time, said it was “so wild”:
Sarah Longwell, of the news website The Bulwark, commented sarcastically: “In a shocking turn of events, the VP in the administration actively destroying the global world order is not very popular at the Olympics”:
“I would like to thank the Italians, and Olympic visitors and athletes from around the world, for telling JD exactly how we feel about him,” wrote independent journalist Adam Cochran:
Sarah Matthews, the former White House deputy press secretary during Trump’s first term, tweeted: “Hard to overstate how much Trump and Vance have damaged America’s reputation on the world stage”:
And the press office for New York governor Kathy Hochul gave the situation the meme treatment:
With the Super Bowl taking place at California’s Levi’s Stadium on Sunday, there’s already reports that Trump was advised against attending because his aides were concerned sports fans in attendance would “likely aggressively boo him”.
Awkward.
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