Olympic Athletes Who Have Been Crystal Clear About Their Feelings On Donald Trump

Every two years, the world gets to watch the best of the best athletes compete against each other at the Olympic games. For many athletes, becoming an Olympian is an ultimate goal, and it's considered a high honor to compete for one's nation. Being an elite athlete also comes with massive media attention, especially for those who medal in popular sports or compete in multiple Olympics. And in the United States, that massive media attention gives those athletes a platform, and anyone with a platform is expected to have concrete opinions on politics whether they like it or not.

While some are careful not to share their political opinions publicly, other athletes embrace the opportunity to give their thoughts, or, at the least, they answer the questions they're asked and don't engage further. Over the past decade, athletes have been especially comfortable sharing their opinions about the 45th and 47th president of the United States. Here are some Olympic athletes who have been crystal clear about their feelings on Donald Trump.

Simone Biles is the most decorated gymnast in history, with eight of her medals coming from the Olympic Games, and five of those being gold. She's proven her talent on the mat, and on the beam, and on the bars, and on the vault time and time again, and it'll be years before the world sees another gymnast with her talent, if ever. With her platform (on social media, that is), Biles has been honest about her opinions on pressing issues, notably having it out with conservative activist Riley Gaines via X on whether trans women should be allowed to play women's sports.

About a year before her tiff with Gaines, Biles took to X to clap back at Donald Trump. Ahead of the 2024 presidential election, Trump gave his thoughts on immigration, saying, "They're taking Black jobs, and they're taking Hispanic jobs, and you haven't seen it yet, but you're going to see something that's going to be the worst in our history," per NBC News, leading some Americans to wonder what he meant by Black jobs. Biles didn't take kindly to the comment, and she made it known after her historic performance at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. After an X user posted photos of Biles showing off one of her gold medals and her custom goat necklace with the caption, "Simone Biles being the GOAT, winning Gold medals and dominating gymnastics is her black job," Biles replied, "I love my black job," in reference to Trump's comments. It seems safe to assume Biles isn't a fan of the president.

Jordan Chiles has an impressive Olympic resume. The gymnast appeared in two Games — Tokyo in 2021 and Paris in 2024 — and she medaled in both, earning a silver and a gold, respectively. (At the Paris Games, Chiles was also awarded a bronze medal in floor exercises, but it was retroactively and awarded to Romanian gymnast Ana Maria Barbosu, a decision Chiles challenged for years in the Court of Arbitration for Sport.) Her success as a gymnast has made her a popular figure in American sports, and she's built a large following on social media.

Chiles hasn't been afraid to share certain opinions to her large social media following, notably after the 2024 presidential election. After Donald Trump won the race over Kamala Harris, Chiles took to X to share her sadness over the results. "Could things get any worse... I'm heart broken... just WOW," Chiles posted. The athlete appeared to remain hopeful, though. She shared a post by fellow athlete Angel Reese which read, "God is the best author and the best finisher. I'm just going to pray on this & think positive." Aside from her brief comments on the election results, Chiles has limited her promotion of civic involvement to her 2025 stint on "Dancing with the Stars," where her encouragement to followers to vote for her got her a spot in the show's season finale.

When it comes to alpine skiing, Mikaela Shiffrin reigns supreme. The winter Olympian has two gold medals and one silver, but that's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to her hardware. She's also got a handful of World Championships medals, as well as over 100 World Cup wins. Her talent has taken her all over the world, and it's resulted in some unique experiences, including being an American among citizens of another nation while learning the results of a presidential election. In 2016, Shiffrin was in Switzerland when she learned that Donald Trump had been elected over Hillary Clinton. "His speech after he won was on the radio in Switzerland. Everybody in the (airport) shuttle bus was making their own comments in their own languages and I was like 'Oh my God! What is everyone thinking?'" Shiffrin told CNN. "The values that he portrays to everybody are not ideal ... But I don't think women are going to be looking to him. I think they still look to Hillary," she added.

Shiffrin wasn't pleased with Trump's win in 2024 either, and she shared her dismay on social media. Per Sportskeeda, after Trump defeated Kamala Harris, Shiffrin shared a post to her Instagram story that read, "Supporting a convicted felon over a woman is f***ing insane." Shiffrin left it at that, but she made her opinions on Trump known.

Lindsey Vonn is another celebrated alpine skier. The athlete has one gold medal and two bronze medals from her appearances at the Olympic Games, and she has more wins in a single discipline than any other skier in history, male or female. Vonn has also been praised for her grit. After suffering what many thought was a career-ending injury, Vonn came back from retirement and qualified for the Olympics again. After rupturing her ACL just days before the 2026 Olympic Winter Games, Vonn said she planned to still compete, showing that she wouldn't let anything stop her from reaching her dreams.

She's been clear about her intentions in her career, and Vonn has been clear about her thoughts on Donald Trump. The skier is determined to compete for her country no matter what, but she's not doing it to represent the president. Back in 2017, ahead of the 2018 Olympic Winter Games, Vonn told CNN, "Well I hope to represent the people of the United States, not the president ... I take the Olympics very seriously and what they mean and what they represent, what walking under our flag means in the opening ceremony. I want to represent our country well. I don't think that there are a lot of people currently in our government that do that," she said, adding that she wouldn't be visiting the White House after her turn at the Games, a promise she made good on.

Lindsey Vonn wasn't the only athlete to skip the traditional visit to the White House after the 2018 PyeongChang Olympic Games. Mikaela Shiffrin, Shaun White, and Chloe Kim were among the notable names not in attendance (White and Kim both cited a wedding as the reason they skipped), along with Adam Rippon. The Olympic bronze medalist figure skater was very direct about why he didn't want to be there. "Olympians from the 2018 Games have been invited to go to the White House today. I will not be going. I will not stand with people who discriminate against those that they perceive as different. In lieu of going to DC, I have donated to a few of my favorite causes," Rippon posted on X, then known as Twitter.

Rippon has been crystal clear about his thoughts on Donald Trump, and he's not fond of Trump's first vice president, Mike Pence, either. In 2018, Rippon, who is openly gay, took to social media to criticize Pence for his views on gay marriage. "I personally have nothing to say to Mike Pence. Given the chance to talk after the Olympics, I would want to bring with me people who's [sic] lives have been hurt by legislation he has championed," Rippon posted. "The VP has had little effect on my own life. I didn't speak up for myself, I spoke up because it's important to give a voice to those who feel they don't have one," he added.

Power couple Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe are not fans of Donald Trump either. The two superstar athletes met at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games where Bird won her fourth of five gold medals for USA Basketball and Rapinoe and the US Women's National Soccer Team came in fifth (Rapinoe and the team won gold at the 2012 Games and bronze at the 2020 Games). Since then, Bird and Rapinoe have been two of the most prominent voices in women's sports, but not everyone has been fond of what they have to say, namely the president of the United States.

Back in 2019, ahead of the USWNT's World Cup win, Rapinoe said to Eight by Eight Magazine, "I'm not going to the f*cking White House," when asked if she would visit the president's home upon a major FIFA win. This was far from the first (or last) time Rapinoe had shared her political stances, but Trump was not pleased with what the soccer star had to say, and he made it clear via X (then known as Twitter). "I am a big fan of the American Team, and Women's Soccer, but Megan should WIN first before she TALKS! Finish the job!" the president posted. As noted, the United States did win, and Rapinoe did not visit the White House. And during it all, Bird took to The Players' Tribune to back her partner, calling Trump as "Full Adolescent Boy" in the process.

Before Caitlyn Jenner was part of the Kardashian family, she was best known as a world-class athlete. Jenner competed in two Olympic Games and earned a gold medal in the decathlon in 1976. Fast forward 40 years and Jenner found herself as one of the few Olympic athletes publicly supporting Donald Trump for president. Jenner is a longtime Republican, and she voted with her party affiliation in the 2016 presidential election. "Following Trump's election as president, I saw fertile ground for change within the Republican Party on LGBTQ issues. Trump was the first Republican presidential candidate to claim to support this valuable, vulnerable community, and I was encouraged by the applause he received when he said at the Republican National Convention in July 2016 that he would stand up for the LGBTQ community," Jenner wrote in an op-ed for The Washington Post in 2018.

But as was the point of the op-ed, Jenner continued in the piece by saying that she had suspended her support for Trump. "Sadly, I was wrong. The reality is that the trans community is being relentlessly attacked by this president. The leader of our nation has shown no regard for an already marginalized and struggling community," Jenner wrote. A few years later, it seemed that Jenner's allegiance hadn't changed. Jenner said she didn't cast a vote for Trump in the 2020 election, and she didn't vote, opting to go golfing that Tuesday. However, the pendulum swung once again during the next election:Jenner shared that she voted for Trump in 2024.

Erin Hamlin is an Olympic bronze medalist in luge. She's competed professionally for decades, representing the United States in four Olympic Winter Games and earning her medal in 2014 in Sochi. Ahead of the 2018 Games, Hamlin's last Olympic outing, some members of the public wondered how athletes felt about representing the United States at a fraught time in its history led by a polarizing president.

In a statement given to Yahoo!, Hamlin said, "I don't agree with what [Trump] stands for, but I am an American and I will stand by every person who supports our team, and I am honored to represent them. Especially my hometown and people who have cheered me on forever." She added, "Our government doesn't fund our team, so there shouldn't be political ties to this ... I represent every person who has gotten me here." Several other athletes had similar sentiments, with many of them stating that they were competing for themselves, their families, and the communities who got them to the Olympics.

Gus Kenworthy is another winter Olympian who's been open about his political views. Kenworthy has competed in three Olympic Games for the United States and has a silver medal in slopestyle, and he's part of the group of winter Olympians who declined the invitation to visit the White House after the 2018 Games. "All US Olympians and Paralympians are invited to visit the White House and meet the President after the Games. Today is this year's visit and USOC spokesperson says he's never seen so many athletes turn down their invites. The resistance is real," Kenworthy posted to X after the Olympics that year.

Throughout Kenworthy's athletic career, he's traveled the world to compete and train, and he's had the chance to speak with many people about the political climate in the United States. In an interview with Time, the Olympian said he thinks the world's opinion of Trump is mostly negative. "It's hard because you know that once you tell people that you're American, they're going to ask you about Trump. You're like, 'I'm American, but just really quick, let me just clarify, that I am actually not in agreement with anything that's happening right now.' I feel like I have to preface it. Because I don't want anyone to think that I'm in support of that," he added.

LeBron James is better known for his dominance in the NBA, but he's represented the United States on the world stage, too. James has competed in four Olympic Games, earning three gold medals and one bronze medal in the process. The basketball star also had the honor of being a flag bearer for Team USA at the 2024 Paris Games Opening Ceremony. As one of the most outspoken athletes, James, a basketball legend, has made his thoughts about Donald Trump very clear, and those times have had nothing to do with the Olympics.

In 2017, for example, James defended Steph Curry, a fellow Olympian, after Trump posted, "Going to the White House is considered a great honor for a championship team.Stephen Curry is hesitating,therefore invitation is withdrawn!" to X. James responded, "U bum @StephenCurry30 already said he ain't going! So therefore ain't no invite. Going to White House was a great honor until you showed up!" In 2024, just before the election, James distanced himself from Trump again by supporting Kamala Harris for president. "What are we even talking about here?? When I think about my kids and my family and how they will grow up, the choice is clear to me. VOTE KAMALA HARRIS!!!" James wrote on Instagram.

Athletes from the United States aren't the only Olympians who don't like Donald Trump — there are plenty of competitors who aren't fans, either. At the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, ahead of the presidential election, a handful of athletes from around the world shared with Time their opinions on Trump, then just a presidential candidate. "I just think he's been an idiot," Steven Gardiner, a track star from the Bahamas with Olympic gold and bronze medals, said of Trump. "I don't think he should be president ... The way he's been speaking, it looks like he's going to make everyone go back to their own nations," Sisilia Seavula, an Olympic track star from Fiji, said.

Some athletes weren't quite as negative about Trump, though. "I don't love him, I don't hate him," Joonyong Seo, a cyclist from South Korea, said. And German fencer Britta Heidemann, who's won two silver medals and one gold at the Olympics, said, "Trump's a showman though. Have to give him that."