US Vice President JD Vance and his wife Usha were met with loud boos when they appeared on the big screen at the 2026 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Milan
US Vice President JD Vance witnessed Team USA receive a mixed reception at the Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Milan and Cortina. As the American athletes entered the arena, a combination of boos, jeers and cheers echoed around the venue.
However, the hostile response intensified significantly when Vance and his wife Usha appeared on the big screen inside the San Siro stadium. When the focus returned to the USA’s athletes, warmer applause could be heard, offering some comfort to the winter Olympians – though it highlighted the political tensions currently overshadowing the sporting event.
This wasn’t Vance’s first appearance at this year’s competition. The Ohio politician, who is being tipped as a potential Republican candidate for the 2028 US elections, had previously attended an ice hockey match in Milan.
He was joined by current Secretary of State Marco Rubio, another possible contender for the 2028 Republican nomination. Organisers had anticipated protests at the fixture and the appearance of Israel’s delegation inside the San Siro was also met with boos from the stands.
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Both Vance and Rubio attended the match with Olympic gold medal-winning hockey sisters Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson and Monique Lamoureux-Morando, accompanied by a substantial contingent of US Secret Service agents. There were significant concerns about possible political demonstrations targeting the US administration, reports the Express.
In Italy, there have been rumours suggesting that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents might be conducting operations in Milan and Cortina during the games. However, Italy’s Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi dismissed these claims in a statement to the Chamber of Deputies: “ICE does not and will never be able to carry out operational police activities on our national territory.”
He clarified that during the Milan-Cortina Games, ICE agents would only be involved in analysis and information exchange with Italian authorities. He also emphasised that their presence is “not a sudden and unilateral initiative,” which could potentially infringe upon Italian sovereignty.
Piantedosi further stated: “We will not see anything on national territory that can be traced back to what has been seen in the media in the United States. The concern that has inspired the controversy of the last few days, which this information allows me to definitively sweep away, is therefore completely unfounded.”
The USA has sent a record-breaking delegation of 232 athletes competing in 16 disciplines to the games in Italy, marking the largest ever team sent by the USA in their Winter Olympic history.
