On Friday, U.S. Vice President JD Vance and his wife, Second Lady Usha Vance, were met with “a lot of boos” at the Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Milan, Italy, along with whistling and occasional applause.
Aboard Air Force One later that day, President Donald Trump learned about the boos and looked genuinely surprised, even a little baffled.
“No, I didn’t see that,” Trump said. “Is that true, is that right? It’s surprising, ’cause people like him.”
Trump quickly added a justification, saying, “Well, I mean he is in a foreign country, in all fairness. He doesn’t get booed in this country.”
REPORTER: “The vice president got booed during the opening ceremony. What do you make of that frosty reception?”
PRESIDENT TRUMP: “That’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… pic.twitter.com/3P5kkkKA41
— Fox News (@FoxNews) February 7, 2026
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Vance has faced public jeers multiple times in the United States. He was booed at a firefighters’ union conference in Boston in 2024, heckled by protesters in Vermont during a family ski trip last March, and met with jeers at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., the same month. Footage from Union Station in D.C. also captured Vance being loudly heckled.
Despite the chilly reception abroad, Vance tried to maintain a diplomatic posture despite the chilly reception. Hours before the ceremony, he met Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
“In the spirit of the Olympics friendship, competition—competition based on rules—and just coming together around shared values, we’re very, very thrilled to be here, and we’ll have a great conversation about a number of topics,” Vance said. He added, “We love Italy and the Italian people. As you said, we have many excellent relations, many economic connections and partnerships.”
Meloni echoed a cooperative tone. “Italy and the United States have always maintained very significant ties,” she said.
The boos in Milan came amid tensions linked to recent U.S. actions in Minneapolis, where ICE agents were deployed following the killings of Renée Good and Alex Pretti. Milan Mayor Beppe Sala said, “This is a militia that kills […] of course they’re not welcome in Milan,” while Italy’s interior minister Matteo Piantedosi confirmed the officers would have no operational role in the Olympics.
Back in the U.S., public opinion shows Vance’s support remains lukewarm. According to RealClearPolitics, his favorable rating is 42%, compared with 49.7% unfavorable, just a notch better than Trump himself, who is viewed unfavorably by 54% of Americans.
The Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina 2026 are expected to feature nearly 3,000 athletes from 90 countries competing for 116 medals over the next two weeks.
Featured image via X screengrab
