Hunter Hess is leaning into his criticisms of America and the “loser” tagline that President Donald Trump bestowed on him at the start of the Milan Cortina Games.
While qualifying for the men’s halfpipe final Friday morning, the Olympic skier flashed an “L” on his forehead after placing fifth in a direct response to the backlash sparked by Trump.
“Apparently, I am a loser,” he said. “I am leaning into it.”
At the start of the Games, Hess said he did not regret admitting that he had “mixed emotions” about representing the United States given everything that is “going on” in the country.
However, the 27-year-old has since revealed its been the “hardest two weeks of his life.”
“I worked so hard to be here. I sacrificed my entire life to make this moment happen. I’m not going to let controversy like that get in my way. I love the United States of America. I cannot say that enough,” he said. “In my original statement, I felt like I said that, but apparently people didn’t take it that way. I’m so happy to be here, so happy to represent Team USA and ride as much as I can.
“It was pretty distracting. I had a week that was pretty challenging. Luckily, my family was there to support me and help me get through it. There was a lot of noise and I’ve never been subject to that type of criticism. But with my family’s help, I was able to get through it. And skiing has saved my life, time and time again, and it seems to have done so again.
“It was probably the hardest two weeks of my life. I luckily had a lot of friends and family support getting through it.”
The Oregon native hasn’t been in alone in his statements about his homeland.
Fellow Team USA freestyle skier Chris Lillis also chimed in, taking gripes with the government’s immigration enforcement.
Great Britain skier Gus Kenworthy posted an image to Instagram of the words “f-k ICE” written in the snow with urine.
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“Innocent people have been murdered, and enough is enough,” Kenworthy wrote in the caption. “We can’t wait around while ICE continues to operate with unchecked power in our communities.”
“We had a training camp in Laax and we just chatted about it, kind of how we got through the hardship,” Hess said of Kenworthy. “He gave me some pointers, which was really nice. And he just helped me have a little bit of an avenue to get out of the pain and focus on the good.”
Additionally, China’s U.S.-born Olympic star Eileen Gu condemned the President over his comments toward Hess.
“I stand with what I said. I love the United States of America. I cannot reiterate that enough,” Hess added. “My entire family, they all live there. It means the absolute world to me to be able to represent Team USA here. I’ve worked so hard to get here. And yeah, I stick with what I said.
‘I’m just a skier from Bend, Ore. I’ve been doing the same thing with the same people my entire life. So being seen by the entire world was definitely a unique experience. But yet again, skiing took me away from it and gave me a lifeline when I didn’t have too much.
‘I’ve had a lot of support as well. There’s been a lot of noise and a lot of hate out there. And all those people are super entitled to their opinion. I respect it. But I’ve had so much support from my local community back home, my friends, my family. So that has meant the world to me, the skiing community. It all meant the world to me. So I’m just happy to be here and representing USA.”
Hess will be on the hunt for his first Olympic medal in his Winter Games debut Friday night.
The halfpipe is his specialty and he most recently placed fifth in the Men’s Halfpipe at the World Championships in 2025.
The two-time X Games medalist will be tested against qualifying leader Brendan Mackay of Canada and his fellow talented teammates, including three-time Olympic medalist Nick Goepper and two-time halfpipe Olympic medalist Alex Ferreira.