Trump calls Olympic skier a “real loser,” and Team USA athletes fired back — turning a personal comment into a free-speech fight
MILAN — A Team USA controversy spilled out of the Olympic venues and into U.S. politics after President Donald Trump targeted freestyle skier Hunter Hess on social media, calling him a “real loser,” prompting fellow Olympians to rally around him and argue the episode tested America’s commitment to free speech.
Hess had said he felt conflicted about representing the United States amid political developments back home — a sentiment that, in another era, might have stayed private. Instead it became a national flashpoint once Trump responded publicly, and it reverberated through an American team already navigating the tension between patriotism and public dissent.
Several U.S. athletes defended Hess, saying backlash for voicing personal doubts cut against the ideals they believe the country stands for. Cross-country skier Ben Ogden — who had just helped end a 50-year U.S. medal drought in Olympic men’s cross-country skiing with a silver in the classic sprint — said he wanted to believe Americans can express opinions without backlash, “certainly not… from the president,” calling the moment disappointing.
Another cross-country skier, Zak Ketterson, called the backlash “pretty childish” and said it was surprising given that the political side criticizing Hess often champions free speech. Lauren Jortberg said some athletes were wrestling with an internal conflict: loving the country and its founding ideals while feeling unease about what she described as “cruel and inhumane things happening in the States.”
The debate also pulled in voices outside skiing. Curler Rich Ruohonen, a Minnesota lawyer and alternate on the U.S. men’s team, condemned immigration sweeps in his home state while emphasizing pride in representing the country. “We have a constitution, and it allows us freedom of speech,” he said, adding that what he’d seen in Minnesota was “wrong.”
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox defended athletes’ right to speak while urging unity, saying he loved living in a country where people get to speak their minds — athletes, governors, and presidents included. The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee’s CEO Sarah Hirshland called for Hess’s remarks to be viewed in context, noting Hess had affirmed his love for the country and that Team USA athletes were proud to represent the U.S. and focused on unity.
Why it’s getting so many reactions is simple: it’s a culture-war format everyone recognizes now — a single quote, a presidential clapback, then a wave of public defenses that turns a personal comment into a national litmus test. And because it’s the Olympics, the symbolism is even louder: the flag, the uniform, the platform, and the question of whether disagreement is disloyalty.
