Not the welcoming reaction he was expecting, Vice President JD Vance was met with boos at the 2026 Winter Olympics opening ceremony.
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According to Newsweek, the politician and Second Lady Usha Vance received a mix of booing and whistling, with some applause when the cameras showed them on the big screen.
“Oop… those are a lot of boos for him,” the Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) reproter Adrienna Arsenault was heard declaring on camera. “Whistling, jeering, some applause. Not a long shot for him on the screen there.”
Although the Vances received mixed reactions, Team USA athletes received applause when they appeared in the parade of countries.
The Vance family plans to spend a week in Italy and attend various Olympic events. The vice president will also be meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
The prime minister shared ther ewill be discsions about several topics of “bitateral cooperation. She referred to the Olympics as events that “tell about values that keep together Italy and the U.S.” and “western civilization.”
President Trump Reacts to Vice President Vance Being Booed at the Winter Olympics
Following the opening ceremony, President Trump spoke out about the in-person audience’s booing of Vice President Vance.
“That’s surprising because people like him,” Trump said to a reporter while on Air Force One on Friday, per Newsweek. “He’s in a foreign country, in all fairness. He doesn’t get booed in this country.”
Italian officials have been critical of U.S. ICE agents’ involvement in American security operations during the Olympics.
Milan Mayor Beppe Sala stated last month, “This is a militia that kills. It’s a militia that enters people’s homes by signing permits for themselves. It’s clear that they’re not welcome in Milan, there’s no doubt about that.”
U.S. State Department previously shared in a statement to CBS News, “The State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service is leading the U.S. security effort at the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. As in previous Olympic events, multiple federal agencies are supporting the Diplomatic Security Service, including Homeland Security Investigations [HSI], ICE’s investigative component.”