The United States has 232 athletes representing the country on the world stage at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy. Now, one Republican senator is calling for some of those athletes to be booted from the team for expressing a negative opinion about President Donald Trump's administration.
The Daily Beast reported Monday that Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) wants to strip American athletes of their uniforms should they speak negatively about the current government while competing for Olympic gold. Scott wrote on X that the U.S. stood for "freedom and democracy" and then pivoted to calling for removing athletes from Team U.S.A. who expressed their First Amendment rights at the Winter Olympics.
"Any person who goes to the Olympics to represent the United States and then says they don't want to represent the United States should be immediately stripped of the Olympic uniform," Scott said in a video.
While Scott didn't name any specific athlete he felt should be stripped of their uniform, his comment comes on the heels of Olympic skier Hunter Hess giving his own nuanced view of patriotism. Hess — who is from Bend, Oregon — said over the weekend he had "mixed emotions representing the U.S. right now," and that he was "not the biggest fan" of the administration's policies.
"I think for me, it’s more I’m representing my friends and family back home, the people that represented it before me, all the things that I believe that are good about the U.S.," Hess said.
In response to Hess' interview, President Donald Trump called Hess "a real Loser" on his Truth Social platform. The president also suggested that Hess shouldn't be on Team U.S.A. given his attitude toward the administration.
"U.S. Olympic Skier, Hunter Hess, a real Loser, says he doesn’t represent his Country in the current Winter Olympics," Trump wrote. "If that’s the case, he shouldn’t have tried out for the Team, and it’s too bad he’s on it. Very hard to root for someone like this."
Hess didn't directly respond to Trump, but posted a follow-up message to his Instagram account on Monday expressing gratitude for living in a country that values freedom of speech.
"There is so much that is great about America, but there are always things that could be better. One of the many things that makes this country so amazing is that we have the right and the freedom to point that out," he wrote. "The best part of the Olympics is that it brings people together, and when so many of us are divided we need that more than ever. I cannot wait to represent Team USA next week when I compete."
Skier Chris Lillis also expressed criticism of the administration, with CNN reporting he was explicitly upset about the recent killings of U.S. citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti at the hands of federal agents in Minneapolis.
"A lot of times, athletes are hesitant to talk about political views and how we feel about things," Lillis said. "I feel heartbroken about what’s happening in the United States."