Vice President JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance haven’t received the warmest welcome at the Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Milan.
Fans watching the opening ceremony on Friday appeared to boo and jeer when the cameras cut to the Vances during Team USA’s entrance at the San Siro stadium.
Led by speedskater Erin Jackson, Team USA was first greeted with applause before the big screens flashed to the Vances in the audience, clapping and waving American flags. Their appearance on the screens was brief and prompted boos, according to pool reporters with U.S. media.
The negative reception was also acknowledged by CBC News correspondents on live television.
“There is the vice president JD Vance and his wife Usha — oops, those are not — those are a lot of boos for him,” the commentator said. “Whistling, jeering, some applause.”
The brief moment highlighted the deep unpopularity of the Trump administration on the international stage. Olympians from the United States and other countries have spoken out against the administration’s harsh immigration enforcement operations that have killed two U.S. citizens in the same city— some more pointedly than others.
The topic of U.S. law enforcement officers’ deadly immigration tactics was raised at an International Olympic Committee news conference on Wednesday. Asked about the possibility of American athletes being taunted at the opening ceremonies, IOC President Kirsty Coventry said she hoped the event would be “seen by everyone as an opportunity to be respectful of each other.”
Reports about U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officers traveling to the Olympics to assist with security also set off confusion and anger in Italy last month. U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee Chief Security Officer Nicole Deal told reporters on Thursday: “I can tell you unequivocally, there are no ICE agents that are part of the team USA delegation on the ground here in Milan.”
Asked about Vance being booed at the opening ceremony, President Donald Trump, who has alienated European allies with his threats to take over Greenland, told a reporter he was not aware of it.
“It’s surprising, because people like him,” Trump said. “Well, I mean, he is in a foreign country in all fairness, but he doesn’t get booed in this country.”
Clarissa-Jan Lim is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW. She was previously a senior reporter and editor at BuzzFeed News.