5 times Donald Trump unwittingly cast a shadow on the Olympics
President Donald Trump didn’t attend the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, nor did he tweet about them much. After a quick tweet marking the start of the games, Trump did not tweet about the Olympics again until congratulating the gold-medal winning U.S. women’s hockey team.
That doesn’t mean that Trump was out of sight, out of mind in South Korea. Here are five Olympic moments that involved the president, whether he knew it or not.
1. Trump and Kim Jong Un impersonators star at Opening Ceremony
The two lookalikes caused a stir when they surfaced at the Opening Ceremony. Outlets from all over the world snapped and tweeted their photos, causing organizers to tell the dynamic duo to return to their seats. (Early reports had them being thrown out of the stadium.)
2. Dutch speedskating fans send message to Trump
The IOC bans political messages at IOC venues (yes, even if they’re funny), so we can’t know if more athletes and fans would’ve protested the agenda of the United States’ president. But these two Dutch speedskating fans were able to get in this flag, which poked fun at Trump’s “America First” approach and touted the Dutch’s superiority in the sport of speedskating.
3. Donald Trump Jr. rips figure skater Adam Rippon
Really? Then Perhaps you shouldn’t have spent the past few weeks talking about him. I haven’t heard him mention you once??? https://t.co/8lcCsoyBsq
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) February 14, 2018
Though he’s now open to a phone call, Rippon publicly feuded with U.S. vice president Mike Pence heading into the games, only to later say that he didn’t want the spat to define his time in PyeongChang. That led to the son of the president getting involved on Twitter, even if he didn’t have all of his facts straight.
4. Lindsey Vonn’s shortcomings celebrated by Trump backers
Dear Lindsey Vonn – @realDonaldTrump does NOT invite losers to the #WhiteHouse. When you talk big, you have to back it up. #LindseyChokeVonn#LindseyVonn https://t.co/B4mn6Xg1CW
— HuntingRinos (@RinoNewsdotcom) February 21, 2018
Vonn became a target for some Americans after the Alpine skier said she wasn’t much interested in visiting the White House as part of the traditional Olympic delegation. When she fell short in the Super-G and only took home a bronze in the downhill, they pounced with a considerable amount of vitriol in her mentions on Twitter.
5. Ivanka Trump arrives for Closing Ceremony
Though Trump didn’t attend the games, his inner circle was represented in Korea. Pence attended the Opening Ceremony, while his daughter Ivanka led the delegation for the Closing Ceremony.
More Olympic coverage from Yahoo Sports:
• Wetzel: Canadian hockey apologizes for taking off silver medal. She didn’t need to.
• Casino outside Olympic site is meant for everyone but the South Korean people
• Russian bobsledder who wore anti-doping shirt just failed a doping test
• International movement to save dogs from South Korean meat farms gaining steam
• The shame in Shani Davis snubbing the media was that he didn’t get to tell his incredible story