US Vice President JD Vance has arrived in Milan for the Winter Olympics, the first stop on a week-long diplomatic tour in which he may face difficult questions over his administration’s immigration enforcement policies.
The vice president will lead an official delegation to the Milano-Cortina Games and plans to meet American athletes on Thursday before attending a preliminary match between the US women’s hockey team and Czechia later on, the US team’s first match of the Olympics.
He will lead the US delegation at Friday’s Opening Ceremony at the San Siro Stadium, alongside his wife Usha Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US Ambassador to Italy Tilman Fertitta.
Former Olympic gold medalists will also be in the delegation, including hockey player sisters Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson and Monique Lamoureux-Morando, speedskater Apolo Ohno and figure skater Evan Lysacek.
The vice-president may be in line for a difficult reception amid fierce backlash to the news that the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency would be in operation throughout the Games.
Several Italian officials criticised the decision. Milan’s mayor described the agency as “a militia that kills” after US citizen Renee Good was shot dead by agents in Minneapolis last month.
Hundreds of protesters gathered in Milan on Saturday to demand the removal of US ICE agents, citing disquiet over the violent crackdowns in Minneapolis, while the US ice sports - figure skating, hockey, and speed skating - changed the name of their team hospitality area from ‘The Ice House’ to ‘The Winter House’ to avoid being associated with the agency.
IOC president Kirsty Coventry urged spectators at the Opening Ceremony to be “respectful” when it was put to her that some may boo American athletes in protest at the Trump administration’s policies.
After stopping off in Italy Vance is set to head to Armenia and Azerbaijan in a show of support for a peace agreement brokered by the White House last year.
Vance is following in the footsteps of former vice presidents Joe Biden, who attended the Winter Olympics in Vancouver in 2010, and Mike Pence, who traveled to Pyeongchang, Korea in 2018. Former Vice President Kamala Harris did not attend the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing because the Biden administration did not send any diplomatic officials as a boycott over human rights concerns.
Additional reporting by AP
