Eileen Gu claps back at JD Vance: “I’m flattered. Thanks, JD!”

After a shaky first run in women’s halfpipe qualifying at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, Gu steadied herself, delivered a clutch 86.50 on her second attempt, and advanced to the finals, keeping her bid for a third straight Olympic freestyle medal haul alive.

Then she did what she often does best. She addressed the noise.

Gu responds to JD Vance criticism

Speaking after qualifying, the American-born skier who competes for China responded to recent criticism from U.S. Vice President JD Vance, who told Fox News he hoped someone who grew up in the U.S. would “want to compete with the United States.”

Gu didn’t even flinch. “I’m flattered. Thanks, JD! That’s sweet,” she said playfully.

But she didn’t stop there. When asked whether she feels like a “punching bag” in American politics, the 22-year-old didn’t hesitate.

“I do,” Gu said. “So many athletes compete for a different country. … 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,” she added. “Like if I wasn’t doing well, I think that they probably wouldn’t care as much.”

Gu is correct. She is far from the only athlete at these Games with U.S. roots competing under another nation’s flag. At the 2026 Winter Olympic Games, eight U.S.-born athletes are competing for other nations.

Great Britain’s freestyle skier Zoe Atkin was born in Massachusetts and raised in the United States before choosing to ski for her father’s homeland, and Los Angeles-born Lyon Farrell competes for New Zealand in snowboarding. Alpine skier Winston Tang, also born in the U.S., made history representing Guinea-Bissau, and Minnesota-born Anabelle Zurbay carries the Irish flag on the slopes. Vance has said nothing publicly about any of those athletes.

Born in California and raised between the U.S. and China, Gu chose to represent China ahead of the Beijing Games in 2022, where she won two golds and a silver, becoming one of the faces of the Olympics and a lightning rod for geopolitical debate.

This week’s halfpipe drama only added to the narrative. Gu fell on her first run before delivering a composed, elimination-saving performance to move on to the finals. She remains one of the favorites to medal again, potentially bringing her Olympic total to six.

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