US President Donald Trump has reacted to US Vice President JD Vance and his wife, Second Lady Usha Vance, being booed by spectators during the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games in Italy.
President Donald Trump on Vice President JD Vance getting booed in Italy. (Reuters/AFP)
“Did you see that the vice president got booed during the opening ceremony, though? What do you make of that?” a reporter asks. Trump asks her to repeat her question.
She repeats, “The vice president got booed during the opening ceremony? What do you make of that frosty…” A look of surprise crosses Trump’s face upon hearing the question.
He instantly asks, “No. Is that true? Is that right?” He continues, “It’s surprising because people like him. Well, I mean, he is in a foreign country, you know, in all fairness. He doesn’t get booed in this country.”
The vice president, who attended the ceremony as the US presidential delegate to the Milano Cortina Winter Olympic Games, was greeted with boos. The crowd expressed disapproval when he and his wife, Usha Vance, appeared on the big screen during the Parade of Nations.
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“There’s the vice president, JD Vance, and his wife, Usha—oop,“ CBC commentator Adrienne Arsenault said during the broadcast of the opening ceremony. “Those are not—oh, those are a lot of boos for him. Whistling, jeering, some applause.”
The crowd’s reaction upon seeing the vice president contrasted with how they reacted to the US athletes. The American team participating in the Winter Olympics received a warm welcome in Italy.
Earlier this week, prior to the ceremony, the IOC President Kirsty Coventry said, “I hope that the opening ceremony is seen by everyone as an opportunity to be respectful of each other,” when being asked about the possibility of jeering.