Chinese Olympic star Eileen Gu fires back at JD Vance after he criticized her for not representing U.S.

Vice President JD Vance has criticized American athletes for speaking out on political issues during the Olympics.

He also questioned Eileen Gu’s choice to compete for China rather than the United States.

Now, the 22-year-old freestyle skiing star is firing back.

The 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy have been a record-breaking triumph for the United States. Team USA captured 12 gold medals — setting a new national record— and surpassed 30 total medals for the first time outside North America.

Yet amid the celebrations, politics have dominated some headlines, as several American athletes have spoken out about their views on how the country is run.

”You’re not there to pop off about politics,” JD Vance told reporters when he responded to American athletes expressing mixed feelings about representing the U.S, given some of President Trump’s controversial policies.

“So, when Olympic athletes enter the political arena, they should expect some pushback,” he added, as first reported by USA Today.

President Trump criticized American skier Hunter Hess after Hess said, “wearing the flag doesn’t mean I represent everything that’s going on in the U.S.”

Five Olympic medals
But now, let’s turn our attention to 22-year-old freestyle skiing sensation Eileen Gu.

Gu has been dominating the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, qualifying for the halfpipe finals on February 21 and claiming gold. With five Olympic medals now to her name, she is the most decorated female freeskier in Olympic history.

But her latest win has sparked political debate.

During a February 17 interview with Fox News, Vance questioned Gu’s allegiance, suggesting that athletes born and raised in the U.S. should represent Team USA.

“I certainly think that somebody 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 that they want to compete with the United States of America,” Vance said.

“So, I’m going to root for American athletes, and I think part of that is people who identify themselves as Americans. That’s who I’m rooting for this Olympics.”

Asked specifically about Gu, he added he had “no idea what her status should be” and that it “was up to the Olympic committee.”

Raised in San Francisco
Eileen Gu was born in San Francisco to Yan Gu, a first-generation Chinese immigrant, and an American father. Her mother, a former chemistry and biochemistry student, competed on Peking University’s short-track speed skating team in the 1980s. After moving to the United States, Yan raised Eileen as a single mother in San Francisco’s Sea Cliff neighborhood.

Gu began skiing at just three years old in Lake Tahoe, where her mother had worked part-time as a ski instructor. By age eight, she joined the Northstar California Resort free-ski team, and a year later, she claimed her first national championship.

In 2019, Gu chose to switch her competitive allegiance to China, and she has since represented the country in halfpipe, slopestyle, and big air events.

Gu has not publicly confirmed her citizenship. Under Olympic rules, “a national of two or more countries at the same time may represent either one of them,” though China does not allow dual citizenship.

Her 2-word response to JD Vance
After a qualifying run, reporters asked if she felt like a “punching bag” in American politics.

“I do,” she admitted. “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. Like if I wasn’t doing well, I think that they probably wouldn’t care as much, and that’s OK for me. People are entitled to their opinions.”

In another interview with USA TODAY, Gu fired a short but pointed response to Vance: “I’m flattered. Thanks, JD! That’s sweet.”

She also made clear she wasn’t offended by the vice president’s comments.

Her view on her heritage
Having won two golds and a silver for China at the 2022 Beijing Games, Gu emphasized that her motivation is bigger than politics:

“I have said, I do what I do because I want to inspire the next generation of young women. I’ve said this since I was 10. No one was paying me when I was 10. No country wanted me to ski for them when I was 10. I’ve had the same principle since I was literally prepubescent. And so if people don’t believe me, at a certain point, that’s just on them.”

Gu also described the Olympics as an opportunity for unity:

“The Olympics is about bringing people together, using sport as a spirit of communication. If they want to focus on the wrong things, they just have a sad little life.”