The US vice-president, JD Vance, was greeted by a chorus of boos when he appeared at the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Milan on Friday, although American viewers watching NBC’s coverage would have been unaware of the reception.
As speedskater Erin Jackson led Team USA into the San Siro stadium she was greeted by cheers. But when the TV cameras cut to Vance and his wife, Usha, there were boos, jeers and a smattering of applause from the crowd. The reaction was shown on Canadian broadcaster CBC’s feed, with one commentator saying: “There is the vice-president JD Vance and his wife Usha – oops, those are not … uh … those are a lot of boos for him. Whistling, jeering, some applause.”
The Guardian’s Sean Ingle was also at the ceremony and noted the boos, as did USA Today’s Christine Brennan. However, on the NBC broadcast the boos were not heard or remarked upon when Vance appeared on screen, with the commentary team simply saying “JD Vance”. That didn’t stop footage of the boos being circulated and shared on social media in the US. The White House posted a clip of Vance applauding on NBC’s broadcast without any boos.
Friday was not the first time there have been moves to stop US viewers from witnessing dissent against the Trump administration. At September’s US Open, tournament organizers asked broadcasters not to show the crowd’s reaction to Donald Trump, who attended the men’s final. Part of the message read: “We ask all broadcasters to refrain from showing any disruptions or reactions in response to the president’s attendance in any capacity.”
Earlier on Friday in Milan, hundreds of people protested against the presence of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents at this year’s Olympics. The US state department has said that several federal agencies, including ICE, will be at the Games to help protect visiting Americans. The state department said the ICE unit in Italy is separate from those involved in the immigration crackdown in the United States.
Before the ceremony, freestyle skier Hunter Hess said he had mixed emotions about representing the US in the current political climate.
“There’s obviously a lot going on that I’m not the biggest fan of,” he said. “Just because I’m wearing the flag doesn’t mean I represent everything that’s going on in the US.”
IOC spokesman Mark Adams addressed the crowd reaction in a Saturday news conference.
“From the IOC’s point of view, the next Games are coming up in Los Angeles. We are super happy that the US administration is so engaged with the Games. That is a great thing for the Olympic movement. I was in the stadium last night, and seeing the US team being cheered as they were by the audience, fair play, that was fantastic.
“I know [Vance and IOC President Kirsty Coventry] met, and it went incredibly well. There was very good chemistry and they had a very good discussion. She was very pleased about the enthusiasm of the vice-president for the Games.”
Vance was not the only person to garner a negative reaction. The four athletes representing Israel were greeted with boos as well as cheers when they appeared for the opening ceremony.
“We don’t like to see any booing, regardless of what countries athletes are from. It is important we support our athletes,” Adams said. “If you want to get philosophical about it, one idea [we have at the IOC] is that athletes shouldn’t be punished for the actions of governments or the countries where they are from.”
