Eileen Gu playfully dissed JD Vance’s criticism of her at the Winter Olympics on Thursday.
Responding to outrage over the U.S.-born freestyle ski star competing for China in her second straight Olympics, the vice president said recently, “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.”
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“I’m flattered,” Gu said (per USA Today) when asked about the comment. “Thanks, JD! That’s sweet.”
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Eileen Gu, right, replied to JD Vance’s negative remarks about her competing for China. Getty
Gu, an international celebrity and model who has won two silver medals in the Milan Cortina Games after winning two golds and a silver at Beijng in 2022, has been a lightning rod for judgment from often-conservative naysayers.
Ex-NBA star Enes Kanter Freedom said on Fox News this week that Gu was a “traitor” siding with an “authoritarian regime” after host Laura Ingraham painted her as an ingrate who aligns with the communists.
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Gu’s supporters suggest she has been subjected to racism and Sinophobia while other U.S.-born athletes compete under a different flag with far less controversy.
“So many athletes compete for a different country,” Gu, whose mother is from China, said, according to USA Today. “People only have a problem with me doing it because they kind of lump China into this monolithic entity, and they just hate China. So it’s not really about what they think it’s about.
“And also, because I win. Like if I wasn’t doing well, I think that they probably wouldn’t care as much, and that’s OK for me. People are entitled to their opinions.”
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Gu advanced through halfpipe qualifying on Thursday and will compete in the final on Saturday.
