NBC appears to cut crowd’s booing of JD Vance from Winter Olympics broadcast | Winter Olympics
US Vice President JD Vance was greeted with a chorus of boos when he appeared at the opening ceremony of the Milan Winter Olympics on Friday, although American viewers watching NBC’s coverage would not have been privy to the reception.
As speed skater Erin Jackson led the American team into the San Siro stadium, she was greeted with cheers. But when television cameras filmed Vance and his wife, Usha, there were boos, jeers and some applause from the crowd. The reaction was shown on Canadian broadcaster CBC’s feed, with one commentator saying: “There’s Vice President JD Vance and his wife Usha – oops, that’s not… uh… that’s a lot of booing for him. Some hissing, some jeering, some applause.”
Sean Ingle of the Guardian was also at the ceremony and noted the boos, as was Christine Brennan of USA Today. However, on the NBC broadcast, the boos were not heard or noticed when Vance appeared on screen, with the commentary team simply saying “JD Vance.” This did not prevent images of the boos from circulating and being shared on social networks in the United States. The White House released a clip of Vance clapping on the NBC broadcast without any booing.
Friday was not the first time measures were taken to prevent American viewers from witnessing dissent against the Trump administration. During the US Open in September, tournament organizers asked broadcasters not to show the public’s reaction to Donald Trump, present at the men’s final. Part of the message read: “We ask all broadcasters to refrain from showing disruptions or reactions in response to the President’s presence in any capacity.”
Earlier Friday in Milan, hundreds of people demonstrated against the presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents at this year’s Olympics. The U.S. State Department said several federal agencies, including ICE, would be at the Games to help protect American visitors. The State Department said the ICE unit in Italy is separate from those involved in immigration enforcement in the United States.
Before the ceremony, freestyle skier Hunter Hess said he had mixed emotions about representing the United States in the current political climate.
“There’s obviously a lot of stuff going on that I’m not the biggest fan of,” he said. “Just because I carry the flag doesn’t mean I represent everything that’s happening in the United States.”
Vance wasn’t the only person to draw backlash. The four athletes representing Israel were greeted with boos and cheers as they appeared at the opening ceremony.
