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US freestyle skier Hunter Hess says being labelled a “loser” by President Donald Trump has made the Winter Olympics a tough challenge. After his successful halfpipe qualifying run for Friday’s final, Hess formed an “L” with his fingers and held it up to the camera.
Before the start of the Games, Hess had joined other US Olympians in voicing criticism of the current immigration crackdown in the United States. Trump posted on his Truth Social platform on February 8 that “it’s too bad” Hess was on the US team.
“I worked so hard to be here. I sacrificed my entire life to make this moment happen,” he told reporters. “I’m not going to let controversy like that get in my way. I love the United States of America. I cannot say that enough.
“In my original statement, I felt like I said that, but apparently people didn’t take it that way. I’m so happy to be here, so happy to represent Team USA and ride as much as I can.”
He said his close circle had been a big help during a tough period.
“It was pretty distracting. I had a week that was pretty challenging. There was a lot of noise and I’ve never been subject to that type of criticism,” he added.
“It was probably the hardest two weeks of my life. I luckily had a lot of friend and family support getting through it. “And yes, I stick with what I said.”
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