Vance Booed at Milan Cortina Opening as Team USA Cheered
Jeers met Vice President JD Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance on the San Siro jumbotron as Team USA received cheers at the Feb. 7 opening ceremony.
The GuardianNBC appears to cut crowd’s booing of JD Vance from Winter Olympics broadcast
New York Daily NewsJD, Usha Vance showered with boos at Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony
Daily BeastVance Brutally Snubbed on World’s Biggest Stage
Associated PressCheers for Team USA turn to jeers for Vance at Milan Cortina opening ceremony
Overview
Cameras at San Siro Stadium on Feb. 7 showed Vice President JD Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance waving flags and drew loud boos and whistles from the crowd, according to multiple broadcasts and eyewitness accounts.
The shift in tone followed Team USA’s entrance led by speedskater Erin Jackson, which received sustained cheers from spectators across the stadium, according to game records and event footage.
NBC’s U.S. broadcast did not include audible boos when Vance appeared, a difference confirmed by comparison with CBC and other international feeds and by social media clips circulated after the ceremony.
Hundreds of protesters demonstrated in Milan on Feb. 7 against the presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at the Games, and the U.S. delegation included Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. Ambassador Tilman Fertitta, officials confirmed.
Vance is scheduled to travel to Armenia and Azerbaijan after Milan to press U.S. support for reopening transit routes, a White House schedule shows, and further diplomatic engagements could follow amid persistent public backlash.
Analysis
Center-leaning sources frame the moment as politically charged by foregrounding crowd reactions (source content) while editorially linking them to U.S. foreign-policy grievances. Editorial choices—evocative verbs like "mood shifted" and selective context about tariffs, military actions and Greenland—steer readers toward a narrative of diplomatic fallout.
FAQ
JD Vance was booed by the crowd at San Siro Stadium when shown on the jumbotron, amid backlash against the presence of U.S. ICE agents assisting with Games security, sparking protests in Milan.[1]
Team USA, led by speedskater Erin Jackson, received sustained cheers from spectators across the stadium during their entrance.
NBC’s U.S. broadcast omitted audible boos when Vance appeared, unlike CBC and other international feeds, as confirmed by comparisons and social media clips.[1]
Hundreds of protesters demonstrated against U.S. ICE agents' involvement in Games policing, chanting anti-ICE slogans and setting off flares before the opening ceremony.[1]
The U.S. delegation included Secretary of State Marco Rubio, U.S. Ambassador Tilman Fertitta, and was led by Vice President JD Vance.
