JD Vance is perhaps having a hard time believing that a U.S.-born athlete could turncoat against the country. It all began when freestyle skier Eileen Gu confirmed that she would be competing for China in place of the U.S. at the Olympics. As the news went viral, it seems to have drawn criticism from the U.S. Vice President.
He recently chose to react to the controversy during a Fox News interview. On Tuesday, Vance mentioned he would maintain a neutral stance on the athlete’s choice, but ended up making a striking statement nonetheless. He claimed to have no idea what Eileen’s status should be at the Olympics following her decision to compete against her birth country.
In his words, “I have no idea what her status should be, I think that’s ultimately up to the Olympics Committee, I won’t pretend to wade into that.”
Right after putting the responsibility on the shoulders of the international committee, JD Vance then added a sour remark that anyone privileged with American education, freedom and liberties must always choose to fight for the U.S. and not against it.
He added, “I certainly think that someone 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 they want to compete with the United States of America. So, I’m going to root for American athletes, I think part of that is people who identify themselves as Americans. That’s who I’m rooting for in this Olympics.”
🚨 BREAKING: VP JD Vance minces no words when asked about American-born Olympic athlete Eileen Gu betraying the US to compete for China — our adversary
“Someone that grew up in the USA, benefited from our system, freedom and liberty should want to compete with the USA.”
“I’M… pic.twitter.com/4gRVNqwahR
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) February 17, 2026
While Vance made it very clear that his preference would always remain for loyal American athletes, it does not take a wild guess to imagine his verdict for Eileen Gu. As such, the skier has remained at the center of incessant criticism, particularly from a large segment of Americans. This is not the first time that Eileen has represented China; she already did it back during the 2022 Beijing Winter Games as well.
Eileen Gu was born in San Francisco to a Chinese mother and an American father. She grew up in the U.S. and attended Stanford University for higher education. The highly decorated freestyle skier in the history of the Olympics started representing China in 2019, to honor her mother’s heritage. Back then, she had clearly made it known about being aware of upsetting the American populace with her choice.
Eileen’s tough decision also faces backlash since it is a time when both China and the U.S. are not on the best terms. With conflicting geopolitical tensions between the two supremely powerful countries, Eileen stands as one common and highly skilled athlete competing in the Olympics.
The stress of having to make such a decision has made her feel the weight of two countries over her shoulders. In fact, in one of her surprising revelations, she even mentioned facing personal challenges, including harassment and assault at Stanford, since she chose not to compete for America.
AMERICA FIRST: VP JD Vance on Eileen Gu choosing China over USA: “I hope someone who grew up here, benefited from our system & freedoms, would want to compete for the United States.
He said it’s up to the Olympics Committee on her status, but we should root for athletes who…
— Bunny Bugs 🍇🎸 (@jabhaikamkar) February 18, 2026
Despite the controversy, Eileen Gu has not been short of commercial success. In 2025, she earned an estimated $23 million through endorsements of various American and Chinese brands. These include Porsche, Red Bull, Tiffany and Anta Sports. Despite embodying a multi-cultural identity, she continues to earn recognition for her skills at skiing.
A recent Wall Street Journal report claimed only last week that Eileen, along with fellow American-born figure skater Zhu Yi, was paid a combined amount of $6.6 million by the Beijing Municipal Sports Bureau in 2025. It was in recognition of achieving excellent results in the sport and then qualifying for the 2026 Milan Winter Olympics.
