As we conclude the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics, the Winter Games occurred during a time of political instability within the United States. Among President Trump’s attacks on labor and immigrant communities and his bellicose foreign policy approaches, the Olympics shed light on our struggles as we fight for a better world. Whether it’s the protests in Milan at the beginning of the Winter Games which criticized Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) involvement in the Winter Games, Olympic figure skater Amber Glenn having to endure attacks and threats on being a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, and FBI director Kash Patel celebrating with the men’s U.S. Olympic Hockey team, certain social issues as well as concerns from the Trump administration came to light.
At the beginning of the Olympic Games, hundreds of protestors gathered in a central square in Milan, Italy, on Saturday, January 31, to call for U.S. ICE agents to leave Italy. Many Italians expressed their concern about ICE, their attack on working-class communities, and their show of solidarity with protesters in Minneapolis and all throughout the United States.
Many student protestors in Milan turned up in numbers, on the streets with plastic whistles, which are symbolic of anti-ICE sentiment in the United States, with calls to have Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio leave the country. One protester, Giacomo Calvi, told the Agence France-Presse (AFP) news agency that he was protesting the U.S. “anti-immigration police, which are carrying out all kinds of violence in the United States.”
U.S. national champion figure skater Amber Glenn, an open member of the LGBTQIA+ community, received violent threats on social media for speaking her mind about Donald Trump and his treatment of the LGBTQIA+ community at a press conference on February 4, saying that it has been “a hard time” for the LGBTQIA+ community. During the press conference, when asked by reporters about her stance, Glenn further elucidated on her point and why it is important to speak out, “I know that a lot of people will say, ‘You’re just an athlete, stick to your job and shut up about politics,’ but politics affects us all,” she told reporters. “It’s something that I will not just be quiet about, because it is something that affects us in our everyday lives. So of course there are things that I disagree with, but as a community, we are strong, and we support each other, and brighter days are ahead of us.”
Olympic freestyle skiers Hunter Hess and Chris Lillis expressed their mixed emotions when representing Team USA in the freestyle skiing competitions, especially during a time when Trump’s fascism is at our doorstep.
Lillis expressed that he is “heartbroken” over what is happening within the United States, amidst Immigration Customs and Enforcement and U.S. Border Patrol agents terrorizing working-class communities at the behest of Trump. Hess explained that representing the United States gives him mixed emotions with everything going on, and that he is more representing his friends and family in the Olympics. President Donald Trump had a response for Hess on his Truth social account, “US. Olympic Skier, Hunter Hess, a real Loser, says he doesn’t represent his Country in the current Winter Olympics. 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. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
Eileen Gu has become the target of MAGA politicians and pundits during the 2026 Winter Olympics, with her representing Team China while being born in California. Earlier in this year’s Olympics, Eileen Gu defended Hess after being caught in a political crossfire due to Hess’s criticisms of Donald Trump’s fascistic immigration crackdown. Eileen Gu offered her thoughts on the situation: “As someone who’s been caught in the crossfire before, I feel sorry for the athletes.”
JD Vance spoke on Gu, claiming that the athlete benefited from the United States but was giving that talent to another country. “I certainly think that somebody who grew up in the United States of America, who benefited from our education system, from the freedoms and liberties that make this country a great place, I would hope that they want to compete with the United States of America,” the Vice President said. “So, I’m going to root for American athletes, and I think part of that is people who identify themselves as Americans. That’s who I am rooting for this Olympics.”
Gu stated one of the goals of the Olympics, “The whole point of sport is to bring people together. One of the very few common languages, that of the human body, that of the human spirit, the competitive spirit, the capacity to break not only records, but especially in our sport, literally the human limit. How wonderful is that?”
To cap off the Winter Olympics, many people in both the United States and Canada tuned in on the morning of February 22 to watch the gold medal Olympic hockey match between the two countries. Kash Patel, the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), flew on an FBI jet to Italy on his “personal time” to watch the historic hockey match between Team USA and Team Canada.
The game was hard fought through three periods, with Canada displaying offensive prowess and the United States displaying effective goaltending and defense. Team USA goalie Connor Hellebuyck made a whopping 41 saves throughout the game, leading his team to a 2-1 overtime victory off a Jack Hughes overtime goal for the Olympic Gold medal. During post-game locker room celebrations, Dylan Larkin (who plays for the Detroit Red Wings) posted a live Instagram feed of himself celebrating the victory with Kash Patel. In addition, after the hockey game, President Donald Trump made a congratulatory video call to the team, expressing his congratulations and even inviting them to the next State of the Union speech, which they ended up attending. During the State of the Union address, Trump announced that Hellebuyck would receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
All in all, it can be said that the Winter Olympics gave us an explanation of the intersection of where we are in society, in that the struggle against fascism is real and important, and that through our struggles, a better tomorrow lies ahead.
As with all news-analysis and op-ed articles published by People’s World, the views reflected here are those of the author.
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