Eileen Gu playfully dissed JD Vance’s criticism of her at the Winter Olympics on Thursday.
Responding to outrage over the U.S.-born freestyle ski star competing for China in her second straight Olympics, the vice president said recently, “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.”
“I’m flattered,” Gu said, per USA Today, when asked about the comment. “Thanks, JD! That’s sweet.”
Gu, an international celebrity and model who has won two silver medals in the Milan Cortina Games after winning two golds and a silver at Beijng in 2022, has been a lightning rod for judgment from often-conservative naysayers.
Ex-NBA star Enes Kanter Freedom said on Fox News this week that Gu was a “traitor” siding with an “authoritarian regime” after host Laura Ingraham painted her as an ingrate who aligns with the communists.
