Former ESPN Host Says She Felt “Ill” Sitting Near JD Vance at Winter Olympics

Earlier at the opening ceremony, the vice president and his wife had appeared on the stadium screens, drawing a mixed reaction from the crowd — applause layered with audible boos. It was a reminder that public figures carry the nation’s divisions with them, even into spaces meant for unity.

Later, as head of the U.S. delegation, Vance met with American athletes and offered a simple message: that people across political lines were cheering for them.

Spain’s story has since stirred conversation — not so much about right or wrong, but about how politics increasingly intersects with everyday spaces, even ones built around sport and shared pride.

What her reflection ultimately revealed wasn’t hostility.

It was something quieter: