Imagine this. You’ve trained your entire life for one moment. You’ve made the United States Olympic Team. You’re in Milan, representing the greatest country on Earth on the world’s biggest athletic stage.

And your first instinct is to grab a microphone and complain about how hard it is to wear the American flag.

Meet Hunter Hess, freestyle skier, Team USA member, and apparently the most ungrateful athlete at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

The Whine Heard Round the World

At a press conference in Milan on Friday, Hess decided that what the moment really called for was some good old-fashioned America-bashing.

“It’s a little hard” to represent the U.S., he told reporters. He has “mixed emotions.” There’s “a lot going on that I’m not the biggest fan of.”

“Just because I’m wearing the flag doesn’t mean I represent everything that’s going on in the U.S.,” Hess explained.

Got it. So you’ll take the flag, you’ll take the training facilities, you’ll take the coaching, the equipment, the sponsorships, the media attention, and the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to compete on the world stage — but you won’t actually represent your country.

You’ll just use your country’s resources to get famous and then trash it in front of an international audience.

Cool. Very cool.

Trump Wasn’t Having It

President Trump, never one to let this kind of thing slide, responded on social media with the subtlety of a freight train.

“U.S. Olympic Skier, Hunter Hess, a real Loser, says he doesn’t represent his Country in the current Winter Olympics,” Trump wrote. “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!”

Harsh? Maybe. Accurate? Absolutely.

If you don’t want to represent America, don’t try out for the American team. It’s not complicated. Nobody forced Hunter Hess to compete. Nobody held a gun to his head and made him put on the red, white, and blue. He chose this. And then he chose to spit on it.

Trump simply pointed out what millions of Americans were already thinking: why should we root for someone who doesn’t want to root for us?

The ICE Obsession

What exactly is Hess so upset about? What’s the “lot going on” that he’s “not the biggest fan of”?

Immigration enforcement. That’s it. Trump is deporting illegal aliens, and Hunter Hess thinks that’s a bridge too far.

His teammate Chris Lillis joined in at the same press conference, saying he was “heartbroken” about ICE and that America needs to focus on “respecting everybody’s rights” and treating people “with love and respect.”

Here’s a thought: maybe the people who broke into this country illegally, ignored court orders, and have been evading deportation for years aren’t entitled to the same consideration as citizens who followed the rules.

But that’s apparently too nuanced for our Olympic ski team, which has decided to turn the Winter Games into a protest against border enforcement.

The Contrast

You know what’s frustrating? At the exact same Olympics, there are athletes who actually appreciate what it means to wear the American flag.

There’s footage circulating of Team USA athletes celebrating, chanting “USA,” embracing the opportunity to represent their country on the world stage. Real patriotism. Real gratitude. Real pride.

And then there’s Hunter Hess, turning a press conference into a therapy session about his complicated feelings.

The difference is stark. Some athletes see the flag as an honor. Others see it as a burden they have to apologize for.

Guess which kind of athlete Americans want to cheer for?

The Privilege Blindness

What Hunter Hess doesn’t seem to understand — what athletes like him never seem to understand — is how spectacularly lucky he is.

He was born in a country where he could pursue his athletic dreams without government interference. He had access to world-class training facilities. He competed in a system designed to identify and develop talent. He made an Olympic team.

Do you know how many people on this planet would give anything for that opportunity? Do you know how many athletes in other countries train in poverty, face government oppression, or never get a chance at all?

Hunter Hess could have been born in North Korea, where the state decides your future. He could have been born in Iran, where political dissent gets you imprisoned. He could have been born in a dozen countries where “Olympic athlete” isn’t even a realistic dream.

Instead, he was born in America. And his response is to tell the world how embarrassed he is.

That’s not principle. That’s ingratitude so profound it borders on delusion.

The Larger Pattern

This isn’t new. We’ve seen it at every Olympics for years now.

Athletes who use the platform their country gave them to protest their country. Who take the spotlight and redirect it toward whatever political grievance is fashionable at the moment. Who seem to believe that being good at sports gives them moral authority on issues they barely understand.

Remember the kneeling? Remember the raised fists? Remember the athletes who refused to stand for the anthem?

It’s always the same. They want the glory, the medals, the sponsorships, the fame — but they don’t want the responsibility that comes with representing something larger than themselves.

The Olympics used to be about national pride. About putting aside differences and rooting for your country. About that incredible feeling when your flag rises and your anthem plays.

Now it’s about which athlete can generate the most headlines by being the most ungrateful.

What Should Have Happened

Here’s what Hunter Hess should have said at that press conference:

“I’m incredibly honored to represent the United States at the Olympic Games. This is a dream come true. I’m grateful for every coach, every teammate, every supporter who helped me get here. I can’t wait to compete and make my country proud.”

That’s it. That’s all he had to say. Nobody was asking him to endorse specific policies. Nobody was demanding a political manifesto. Just basic gratitude and patriotism.

Instead, he chose to make it about himself and his feelings about immigration policy.

And now, instead of being known as “Hunter Hess, Olympic freestyle skier,” he’s known as “Hunter Hess, the guy who complained about America at the Olympics.”

Congratulations. That’s your legacy now.

The Bottom Line

Trump called Hunter Hess a “real Loser.” Some will say that’s too harsh. That presidents shouldn’t comment on individual athletes. That it’s beneath the office.

But here’s the thing: when an American athlete uses the world stage to undermine America, someone should say something. When the flag is treated as a burden rather than an honor, someone should push back.

Trump did. And most Americans, watching from home, silently agreed.

Hunter Hess has every right to his opinions. He has every right to disagree with his government’s policies. He has every right to speak his mind.

But he doesn’t have the right to wear the American flag, take all the benefits that come with it, and then act like he’s doing us a favor by being embarrassed.

That’s not patriotism. That’s not courage. That’s just being a jerk on the world stage.

And Trump was right to call it out.