The Press Goes for Gold In Trashing the U.S. While Hailing the American Competing for the Chi-Coms – RedState
We are more than familiar with the press getting excited by controversy, to the point where it strives to generate it when it finds none. Considering that these are the same cranks who claim to despise division in this country, their desire to create political division is all the more unacceptable. The fact that they chose the Olympics to exercise this aspect of their profession was an expected dose of distemper.
Sports journalists are basically relegated to the minor leagues of journalism, but they are no less biased than their colleagues in the major news outlets. This means that whenever they attempt to engage in the socio-political arena, they do so in a brutal manner. It’s like observing the difference between a butcher skillfully using carving knives and a meatpacker using a handsaw on a carcass in a slaughterhouse.
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The first week of the Milan Olympiad was filled with examples of athletes being pushed to publicly condemn some of the activities taking place in this country. While these soundbites were trumpeted throughout the media sphere, what was never explained is why we should care what a 20-year-old snowboard shredder or middle-aged rock slider has to say about complex political policies.
🇫🇷Rich Ruohonen, curler for the American team:
“I’m proud to represent Team USA. But we would be remiss if we didn’t mention what’s happening in Minnesota and what a difficult time it’s been. What’s happening is wrong. There are no shades of gray. We play for the people of Minnesota and… pic.twitter.com/3S8uMk90zS
– Republicans Against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) February 10, 2026
What makes these press efforts all the more intolerable is the bifurcated approach to these issues with reference to a particular athlete. In the women’s ski categories, one of the stars is Eileen Gu, and the approach to her appearance in Italy is a lesson in abject contradiction. While American athletes are encouraged to speak out and criticize the administration, Gu, a California resident, is seen as the darling of the Games, even though a glaring opportunity was avoided.
Gu competes under the Chinese flag, despite being born and raised in San Francisco. Indeed, her mother is a first-generation resident of China, and Gu announced years ago that she wanted to promote her sport to young girls in that country. But there are other things at play with this skier, and the media’s wariness of discussing these topics is a hilarious dose of professional laziness.
More than a competitive convenience option, Eileen’s national placement choice is quite profound. Her mother is involved in her native country and Eileen spent her summers in China, not only visiting but also attending school. The country adopted it when it switched allegiance to the International Olympic Committee, which merits investigation, in which the press has been reluctant to engage.
China does not recognize dual nationality, so this connection that is being established raises eyebrows. Then last year, it was revealed how the Chi-Coms had listed Gu as one of two Olympic athletes they had spent millions of dollars training on. The government has worked to erase any reference to this support, removing Gu’s name from government documents and memory-troubling media reports mentioning the program. This is the kind of inherent intrigue that should have the press salivating.
Instead, our media responded with resounding silence. And although her dealings with communist leaders are broader than just draping a different flag on her shoulders, you won’t find any challenging questions or calls in the press for her to condemn Chi-Com’s human rights abuses. This is only for those competing for the nation that allows their bleating to take place.
Gu was instead praised by our media. There was a glowing profile on “The Today Show,” and almost all the news about him is favorable, with only cursory mention of his change of national allegiance. Time Magazine decided that even if the United States sent more than 200 athletes to Cortina, it would give Gu coverage.
“The numbers say that I am, in competition, the best freeskier who has ever lived.”
New TIME cover: Three-time Olympic medalist Eileen Gu talks about her rise to freestyle skiing stardom, her decision to represent China in global competitions, and her mindset ahead of winter 2026… pic.twitter.com/DNui6F5WDT
– TIME (@TIME) January 22, 2026
The lowest point of hypocrisy was seen by Nicolle Wallace, who praised Gu for his comments against the government. Not the communist authoritarians, but the Trump administration. Nicky not only praised her for speaking out against the administration’s comments on athletes’ complaints, but she also said Gu was “braver than most” for speaking out against OUR president, not Xi.
As of Monday, after reading a quote from China’s US Representative Eileen Gu criticizing Trump, Nicolle Wallace, “these people who have nothing to gain, right, from going into politics, are more courageous than the law firms, than the universities that have capitulated, than the… pic.twitter.com/JwxwO8gi0p
-Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) February 11, 2026
This is completely bizarre logic. Eileen is nicknamed a warrior because she remains silent about the oppressive government she represents, and the press does not even dare to broach the subject of China. Yet they say everyone involved is “brave,” including themselves. Then there is the paradox of Gu saying that the White House’s political comments are shamefully undermining the spirit of the Olympics, after the press DEMANDED that politics be addressed at the games.
It is the press that wants the discussions to go in one direction, denouncing the responses after encouraging the first provocative comments. Turning away from any mention of Chinese leaders is the opposite of courage; he withers in the face of communist reprisals, both against the athlete and against the mainstream media.
