Just days after President Donald Trump called Olympian Hunter Hess a “real loser” for saying he had “mixed emotions” about representing the U.S  at the Winter Olympics in Milan, the discussion has swept through Team USA. Now, a 54-year-old curler has taken the stage to voice his opinions about domestic politics and the current immigration scandals in his native Minnesota.

“I’d like to say I’m proud to be here to represent Team USA, and to represent our country,” Rich Ruohonen noted. “But we’d be remiss if we didn’t at least mention what’s going on in Minnesota.”

Unlike many Olympic veterans, Ruohonen didn’t join the Games as a longtime fixture of U.S. curling. He earned his spot as the alternate for Team Casper after the team won the U.S. Olympic Curling Trials and secured their place at the 2026 Games.

Ruohonen spoke candidly about the challenges back home.

“We have a constitution, and it allows us freedom of the press and freedom of speech, protects us from unreasonable searches and seizures, and makes it that we have to, you know, have probable cause to be pulled over. And what’s happening in Minnesota is wrong. There’s no shades of gray.”

News served to you like never before!

Prefer us on Google, To get latest news on feed

Prefer Us on Google

The situation he’s referring to involves Operation Metro Surge, a federal campaign in Minnesota where ICE and other federal agents increased their activities. The operation has led to the deaths of two U.S. citizens during confrontations with federal agents and sparked widespread protests across Minneapolis, St. Paul, and surrounding areas.

Despite weighing in on politics, Ruohonen made it clear that his loyalty to the U.S. and his team remains strong.

“I want to make it clear that we are out here. We love our country. We’re playing for the U.S. We’re playing for Team USA. And we’re playing for each other, and we’re playing for our family and our friends that sacrificed so much to get here today. And that doesn’t change anything because what the Olympics mean is excellence, respect, and friendship. And we all, I think, exemplify that.”

He continued, “And we are playing for the people of Minnesota and the people around the country who share those same values.”

Minnesota has long been a curling powerhouse, producing numerous Olympic competitors, including John Shuster, who skipped the men’s team to gold at the 2018 PyeongChang Games.

Ruohonen has had a long and successful curling career, too.

He has played two World Men’s Curling Championships (2008 and 2018) and reached the playoffs in 2018, finishing in sixth place.

But now, all of these happened amid a larger political conversation stirred by Donald Trump’s recent comments.

Hunter Hess faces backlash from Donald Trump after candid remarks on representing Team USA

Just days into the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina, American freestyle skier Hunter Hess is in the middle of a raging national debate. The 27-year-old athlete, who participated in the men’s halfpipe, gained headlines when he was honest about how he felt representing the United States in such a politically charged period back home.

In a press conference before the Opening Ceremony, Hess said: “It brings up mixed emotions to represent the U.S. right now… there’s a lot going on that I’m not the biggest fan of….Just because I’m wearing the flag doesn’t mean I represent everything that’s going on in the U.S.”

Hess made it clear that he still loves his country and is proud to compete for the people who have supported him, his family, friends, and community, while also acknowledging the policies he disagrees with.

Soon, his comments were widely interpreted as distancing himself from aspects of U.S. politics.

The reaction was swift.

President Donald Trump criticized Hess on social media, calling him a “real loser” and adding: “If that’s the case, he shouldn’t have tried out for the team, and it’s too bad he’s on it. Very hard to root for someone like this. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

Donald Trump’s critique was echoed by Tennessee Republican representative Tim Burchett, who posted that Hess should “shut up and go play in the snow.”

Despite the backlash, many fellow athletes expressed support for Hess’s right to speak honestly.

Olympic stars such as Chloe Kim and Eileen Gu came to his defense. They clarified that as athletes, they could love their country and at the same time, openly critique its policies. But, Hess reneged on fans later that he is proud to be a part of Team USA and that he appreciates the freedom of speech that allows athletes to express their views.