JD Vance Booed at Olympics Opening Ceremony
What To Know
- U.S. Vice President JD Vance and his wife were booed by the crowd during the 2026 Olympics opening ceremony in Milan, as reported by multiple news outlets.
- The negative reception contrasted with the cheers for American athletes and was more clearly heard on Canadian and international broadcasts than on NBC.
- Protests also targeted U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement agents present for Olympic security, reflecting broader political tensions surrounding the event.
Athletes got cheers at Friday’s 2026 Olympics opening ceremony in Milan, Italy, and U.S. Vice President JD Vance got jeers.
The booing wasn’t as audible on NBC’s coverage of the ceremony as it was in the coverage aired by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s CBC network, Entertainment Weekly reported.
“There’s the vice president, JD Vance, and his wife Usha,” CBC News chief correspondent Adrienne Arsenault said as a camera angle showed the Vances in the stands at San Siro stadium, as heard in an X clip. “Oop… those are not… eh, those are a lot of boos for him — whistling, jeering, some applause. Not a long shot of him.”
JD Vance gets booed inside the San Siro in Milan.
“oop… those are not… those are a lot of boos for him” pic.twitter.com/bVPCsVyFcU
— Zac 🎗️ (@zacvoynow) February 6, 2026
The Independent journalist Flo Clifford corroborated the icy reception, reporting, “A largely positive reception for the U.S. contingent. There are thousands of American fans in the stadium — but very definite boos and jeers for vice president JD Vance and his wife, second lady Usha Vance, who the camera pans to waving American flags for a few brief seconds.”
Other Americans getting jeers in Milan are the U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement agents assisting with security during the Olympic Games. Hundreds of people gathered in the Italian city last week to protest ICE’s presence in Milan and demand that the agents leave, according to NPR.
“This is a militia that kills, a militia that enters into the homes of people, signing their own permission slips,” Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala told local media before that protest, NPR added. “It is clear they are not welcome in Milan, without a doubt.”
Amid the political tension, International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry expressed hope at a press conference on Wednesday that those gathered at Friday’s opening ceremony would be “respectful” to the Team USA athletes, per The Independent.
Vance was previously booed by audience members at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., in March 2025 as he attended a National Symphony Orchestra performance amid the Trump administration’s takeover of the cultural institution, according to The Hill. And the vice president also got heckled by protestors as he met National Guard troops in Washington, D.C., in August 2025, according to BBC News.
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