Eileen Gu was born in San Francisco, in the United States, and is the daughter of a Chinese immigrant mother and an American father. She chose to represent China, which angered the U.S. vice president.
In an interview with FOX News on February 17, JD Vance criticized the fact that the Olympic champion chose to represent another country instead of the United States.
“I certainly think that someone who grew up in the United States, who benefited from our education system and the freedoms and rights that make this country a great place, should want to compete for the U.S.,” he said.
Eileen Gu won a gold medal in the halfpipe at the Milan–Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics on Saturday (21).
Despite the athlete’s achievement, Vance said he would only root for “American athletes.”
Eileen Gu was asked how she feels about being “like a punching bag for a certain segment of American politics right now.”
“Many athletes compete for a different country. People only have a problem with me doing it because they kind of see China as a monolithic entity and simply hate China,” she noted.
“If I weren’t doing so well, I think they probably wouldn’t care as much, and that’s fine with me. People are entitled to their opinions,” she concluded.
Despite the criticism, Eileen Gu said sarcastically that she feels flattered by Vance’s comments. In an interview with USA Today, she defended athlete Hunter Hess, who has criticized ICE’s actions in recent months.
“As someone who has been caught in the crossfire before, I feel sorry for the athletes,” Gu said.
JD Vance on Eileen Gu: “I certainly think somebody who grew up in the US, who benefitted from our education system and the freedoms and liberties that make this country a great place, I would hope they would want to compete with the US. So I’m going to root for American athletes… pic.twitter.com/nJcHaJZ8L4
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 17, 2026
Source and images: Instagram @eileengu. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
