Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent weighed in on the controversy over the American-born Olympic skier Eileen Gu’s decision to compete for China over the U.S.
During an interview on Fox News’ “The Will Cain Show” on Friday, Bessent suggested Gu “sold out” with her decision to compete for America’s greatest adversary, comparing her to billionaire Democrat donor George Soros.
“It was just like this young Olympic athlete that the Vice President was talking about earlier on the previous show. America was great to her, she sold out to China. America was great to Mr. Soros,” Bessent said.
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Bessent referenced comments made by Vice President JD Vance in response to a question about Gu during a Tuesday interview on Fox News’ “The Story With Martha MacCallum.”
“I certainly think that someone who grew up in the United States of America who benefited from our education system, from the freedoms and liberties that makes this country a great place, I would hope they want to compete with the United States of America,” Vance said on “The Story With Martha MacCallum.”
“So, I’m going to root for American athletes. I think part of that is people who identify themselves as Americans. That’s who I’m rooting for in this Olympics.”
Gu responded to Vance’s comments on Thursday.
“I’m flattered. Thanks, JD! That’s sweet,” Gu said of Vance’s comments, per USA Today.
Gu was also asked if she currently feels “like a bit of a punching bag for a certain strand of American politics” after her competition on Thursday.
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“I do,” she said, per USA Today. “So many athletes compete for a different country. … People only have a problem with me doing it because they kind of lump China into this monolithic entity, and they just hate China. So it’s not really about what they think it’s about.
“And also, because I win. Like if I wasn’t doing well, I think that they probably wouldn’t care as much, and that’s OK for me. People are entitled to their opinions.”
Gu has previously said she was “physically assaulted” for her decision to represent China.
“The police were called. I’ve had death threats. I’ve had my dorm robbed,” Gu told The Athletic. “I’ve gone through some things as a 22-year-old that I really think no one should ever have to endure, ever.”
Gu has been the subject of global criticism since her decision to represent China dating back to the original decision in 2019, and her first Winter Olympics in Beijing in 2022. This year, that criticism has ramped up, as she has won two silver medals and even responded to a question about President Donald Trump criticizing U.S. Olympian Hunter Hess for being critical of the current state of America.
“I’m sorry that the headline that is eclipsing the Olympics has to be something so unrelated to the spirit of the Games. It really runs contrary to everything the Olympics should be,” Gu told reporters Monday. “The whole point of sport is to bring people together… One of the very few common languages, that of the human body, that of the human spirit, the competitive spirit, the capacity to break not only records, but especially in our sport, literally the human limit. How wonderful is that?”
Gu also claimed she had been “caught in the crossfire” herself.
“As someone who has got caught in the crossfire before, I feel sorry for the athletes,” Gu said. “I hope that they can ski to their very best.”
Gu will compete in the women’s freestyle skiing halfpipe final on Saturday after winning silvers in her first two events.
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