I will start by declaring that I simply do not have an answer to that question, so this is not a trick to lure you into some gotcha web of mine. We watched the Opening Ceremonies of the XXV Winter Olympic Games from Milan/Cortina last night. Kim was doing what she always does, which is simultaneous newsfeed interpretation and assessment. The reason that had particular value in last night’s show was that Donald Trump has so cowed the media (and business, and universities, and law firms, and many world leaders, and most Americans…) that NBC, who is broadcasting the Winter Olympics this year, is not likely to show us anything that reflects badly on Trump for fear of reprisals. The thing about the opening ceremonies of any Olympic Games is that the formula is very much predictable. Besides all the entertainment hoopla and light and sound shows, there is basically a procession of all the participating countries accompanied by cameos of their respective attending leaders. At this gathering of nations for non-partisan, apolitical competitive sport, the spirit of the games is to set aside our differences and prove to the world that we are all above the politics and problems of the moment. That is normally a lot to ask, but that is especially a lot to ask at this moment in world history due to several bad actors.
Several countries and athletes are currently banned or suspended from Olympic competition. Russia and Belarus are the most significant current bans. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, both countries have been banned from competing as nations. However, individual athletes from these countries can compete as “neutral athletes” (under no flag) if they meet strict eligibility criteria – they must not have actively supported the war and cannot have ties to the military or state security agencies. This arrangement has been controversial, with Ukraine and several other countries advocating for complete exclusion. North Korea was suspended through the end of 2022 by the IOC after withdrawing from the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. That suspension has since expired, which is why they were able to return for Paris 2024, but they are otherwise free to participate. Countries like Iran and Venezuela, which are among the biggest pariahs of the world right now can compete and were represented last night. Even Afghanistan is not officially “banned”. The Taliban’s restrictions on women’s sports mean Afghanistan effectively cannot field a full Olympic team that complies with Olympic Charter requirements for gender equality, but the issue was moot in last night’s ceremony as they did not try to enter. But that all does not mean that there are still not bad geopolitical actors that are unwelcome by the Olympic audience and who are still in attendance.
I imagine that had Russia been allowed to compete, it would have drawn a significant reaction from the largely European crowd in Milan. While Europeans are only marginally impacted by the going-on in Venezuela, they do hold significant anti-Iranian sentiment and yet both of those country’s processions walked through the stadium with little reaction from the crowd. That was not the case in two other instances. The first was when the Israeli delegation walked in to significant booing. Anti-Israeli sentiment is running very high in Europe and much of the world due to its actions in Gaza over the past few years. That is particularly poignant due to history given the history of the 1972 Winter Olympic incident in Munich when eight members of the Palestinian terrorist group Black September broke into the Olympic Village and took 11 Israeli athletes and coaches hostage. Two Israelis were killed immediately during the initial attack, and the remaining nine hostages were killed during a failed rescue attempt by German police at a military airfield later that night. Five of the eight terrorists were also killed, and one German police officer died in the gunfight. In the aftermath, the Olympics were suspended for 34 hours for a memorial service, then controversially resumed. This remains one of the darkest moments in Olympic history and led to major changes in security protocols for future Olympic Games. The incident had lasting geopolitical ramifications and is remembered as a tragic intersection of international terrorism and what was supposed to be a celebration of peaceful athletic competition. Israel’s intelligence service, Mossad, subsequently conducted Operation Wrath of God, tracking down and killing many of those involved in planning the attack.
I will bet that no one in the Israeli government (or Israeli citizenry, for that matter) was surprised by the noticeable reaction at the opening ceremony. Israel has clearly decided that its unique geographical and ideological position in the world has always made it a country that must suffer its isolation at all costs. They seem to get it. It’s a price they are willing to pay for being who they are and living where they live, whether we or Europeans or anyone else in the world likes it or not.
The other notable incident, that happens to give rise to this story, was during the American Olympic procession. I think its only fair to say that America is not at the moment the favored nation it has once been. There are plenty of people around the world, and especially in Europe, who are not liking us much these days as we jerk their chains with our trade tariff and gunboat diplomacy. But the crowd did not boo the American delegation Until the Jumbotron put up the image of our visiting dignitaries of Vice President J.D. Vance and his wife Usha. The world should love this couple. He is a bootstrapped hillbilly who educated himself at Ohio State and Yale and then wrote a global bestseller in Hillbilly Elegy before getting into politics. She is the daughter of Indian immigrants who educated herself at Yale and Cambridge before clerking for the Supreme Court (Roberts and Kavanaugh). They appear to be an exemplary modern multi-cultural family that should please the global community. The crowd loudly booed them (NBC shielded the American audience from that Trumpian embarassment). It’s impossible to tell whether those boos were for Vance or Trump or both. They may have even been somewhat for Usha herself, who seems to be increasingly viewed as complicit in the horrors being perpetrated on Americans and the world by the Trump Administration. How can such intelligent and seemingly worldly people not get it?
Tomorrow is Super Bowl Sunday and Donald Trump will not be attending the game as he previously said he wanted to. His staff seems to have prevailed upon him that he would be resoundingly booed, highlighting for the vast array of Americans who would be watching…many of whom are still, more or less, Trump supporters. He has enough image and likeability problems at the moment that he obviously got convinced that attending was not a smart PR move. He needs to get over his latest Obama/Ape racist text smearing incident before he tries to rightist his popularity again. He’s probably trying to figure out how to orchestrate another fake assassination attempt to help him in the polls.
But I can’t help wondering about Trump and J.D. and even Usha (I ignore Melania since she has proven herself to be largely oblivious and amoral for a long, long time) and why they don’t get it. How can they not see that their program is simply not winning over the American people and the world. Some of their Republican brethren are starting to get it (not nearly enough nor nearly often enough), but they seem to be increasingly unwilling to admit to the reality. Trump is the laughing stock of the global leadership with his one stupid act, idea or thought after another. His doubling down makes him look doubly stupid. And J.D….he’s smart enough to know better but seems blinded by some combination of Peter Thiel and ambition. But Usha…she must get it. I guess we should feel sorry for her. She and J.D. have three kids, so what’s a mother to do? In for a penny, in for a pound. Like Stephen Miller’s wife, who is barricaded behind a military compound, she must feel trapped at this point. That is probably why they don’t get it.