Alysa Liu Talks Politics In Resurfaced Video

Share
LinkedInPin
Tang Xinyu/VCG via Getty Images

What to Know

01 Several Olympic athletes have been criticized for speaking out against the Trump administration.
02 Conservatives have praised Alysa for not making things political, but she has actually spoken up about politics before.
03 In a resurfaced interview, she talked about political protects and immigrant rights.

Some Olympic athletes, including figure skater Amber Glenn, have faced backlash for speaking out against the Trump administration. In response to the criticism from MAGA, Amber took to TikTok and shared photos of both herself and Alysa Liu holding up their medals. Per HuffPost, Amber wrote, “They hate to see two woke b—-es winning. If ‘Woke’ means people who use their platforms to advocate for marginalized communities in the country that they are actively representing …… Then yeah sure?”

Although Alysa has also been described as “woke,” conservatives have largely embraced and celebrated her after she won gold in the Olympic figure skating free skate. An X account called “MAGA Voice” wrote, “I am in tears. Alysa Liu just did another beautiful skate at the Olympics. No political agenda, just having fun representing America going for GOLD I LOVE THIS.”

A resurfaced video shows that Alysa has spoken up about politics before, though.

During a resurfaced interview with KARE 11, Alysa made her views pretty clear. She did not criticize President Donald Trump outright, but she did say “things are a little rough” and she has attended protests. “I definitely do really care about what our country is doing, and I think it is really important also to, you know, notice, like, the faults in our own government,” she said. “Yeah, very similar to my dad. Yeah, things are a little rough, a little rough in our country, but I think every government has its issues. There are so many protests that are going on, and I’ve attended.”

Alysa’s dad is an immigrant who came to the United States from China as a political refugee. During the interview, Alysa also touched on immigrant rights. “Coming from a family of immigrants, I think immigrants deserve rights,” she said. “I think it’s a little silly, especially in America.”

Support from MAGA has sparked backlash online.

When Alysa won gold, some conservative politicians celebrated the win on social media. Some of them also pitted her against Eileen Gu, an Olympic skier who represents China. Republican congressman Michael Baumgartner took to X to write, “Liu 🇺🇸 > Gu 🇨🇳,” even though the two athletes don’t compete in the same sport. And House Republicans also celebrated Alysa’s gold medal win on X, writing, “CONGRATULATIONS to Alysa Liu, OLYMPIC CHAMPION!!”

But in response, some people called the Republicans out for this. “Oh so NOW you think immigrants are good? Gtfo and stay irrelevant,” one person wrote back. Another critic wrote, “you think just because she repped the USA that she then f—s with republicans and Trump? maybe do your research cause oh boy do i have something to tell you!”

Paige Sheffield (she/her)