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Chinese-born Team USA figure skater Eileen Gu has responded to the global criticism she received during the Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina.
His decision to compete against China despite being born in the US made him a target for Americans and others around the world, and Vice President JD Vance said he hoped that athletes born here “will want to compete with the United States of America.”
Gu was asked if he currently felt “like a little American political bag” after his race on Thursday.
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Silver medalist Eileen Gu of China attends the award ceremony of the women’s freestyle skiing of the main aerial event at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Livigno, Italy, Feb. 16, 2026. (Hongxiang/Xinhua via Getty Images)
“I do,” he said, per USA Today. “A lot of athletes compete for a different country. … People just have a problem with me doing it because they put China in this monolithic organization, and they hate China. So it’s not really about what they think it’s about.
“And again, because I’m winning. Like if I wasn’t doing well, I think they probably wouldn’t bother me as much, and that’s fine with me. People are entitled to their opinions.”
Earlier, Gu said he was “beaten” by his decision to represent China.
“The police have been called. I have been threatened with death. I have been deprived of a place to sleep,” Gu told The Athletic. “I’ve been through some things as a 22-year-old that I don’t think anyone should have to endure.”
EILEEN GU GARNERS BACKLASH FOR COMMENT ON TRUMP’S STATEMENT DURING CHINA.
Silver medalist Eileen Gu of China poses for pictures after the award ceremony of the women’s figure skating event at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Livigno, Italy, Feb. 16, 2026. (Wang Peng/Xinhua via Getty Images)
Gu will compete in the freestyle skiing halfpipe final on Thursday after winning silvers in her first two events.
It will be the culmination of the Olympics that have been described by the world’s biggest criticism of Gu.
I The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Gu and Zhu Yi, another American-born figure skater now competing in China, were paid $6.6 million by the Beijing Municipal Sports Bureau in 2025 “for striving for the best qualifying results for the 2026 Milan Winter Olympics.” In total, the two have reportedly been paid an estimated $14 million over the past three years.
Vance weighed in on the controversy surrounding Gu in a Tuesday interview on Fox News’ “The Martha MacCallum Affair.”
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(left) Team China skier Eileen Gu, (right) Vice President JD Vance (Getty Images)
“I certainly think that someone who grew up in the United States of America who benefited from our education system, from the freedom and the freedom that makes this country a great place, I would hope that they want to compete with the United States of America,” said Vance “The Story With Martha MacCallum.”
“So, I will go the root of American athletesI think it’s part of what people define as American. That’s what I said at the Olympics.”
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