LIVIGNO, Italy — American freestyle skier Hunter Hess, who unexpectedly found himself caught up in a social media and political firestorm at the start of the Olympics, said he has had “probably the hardest two weeks of my life” after being called a “loser” by President Donald Trump.
Hess, who has largely gone underground after the controversy erupted, spoke after Friday’s halfpipe qualifying round. He finished fifth and will be one of four Americans competing in the 12-man final.
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“I worked so hard to get here. I sacrificed my whole life to make this moment happen,” Hess said. “I’m not going to let controversy like this get in the way. I love the United States of America. I can’t say it enough. In my original statement, I felt like I was saying that, but obviously people didn’t feel that way. I’m excited to be here, excited to represent Team USA and ride as much as I can.”
Hunter Hess qualified for the 12-man finals in the men’s freeski halfpipe. (Photo by David Davis/PA Images via Getty Images)
(David Davis – PA Photo via Getty Images)
Hess was one of several U.S. athletes asked before the opening ceremony how they felt about representing the United States given the current domestic political climate, the ICE raid in Minneapolis and the violent clashes with protesters that dominated news coverage at the time.
Hess admitted “mixed emotions” and said “there’s obviously a lot of things I’m not the biggest fan of” and spoke about how he represents his values and the things he believes in when he wears a Team USA uniform.
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“Just because I wear the flag, it doesn’t mean I represent everything that’s going on in America,” he said.
While Hess is not the only American athlete to make such remarks, his comments angered some segments of social media and cable news commentators. Hess acknowledged the backlash in an Instagram post but didn’t speak to reporters until Friday about what it’s like to have a president coming after you when you’re preparing to compete in the Olympics.
Hess’s fame exceeded his expectations, and he and some members of the halfpipe team traveled to Switzerland to train.
“It’s very distracting,” he said. “I had a challenging week. Luckily, my family supported me and helped me through it. There was a lot of noise and I never had that kind of criticism. But with the help of my family, I was able to get through it. Skiing has saved my life time and time again and seems to have saved my life again.”
Asked if he would make the same comments afterwards, Hess said: “I stand by what I said. I love the United States of America. I can’t reiterate that enough.”