Lindsey Vonn wants to make sure her last tour at the 2018 Winter Olympics is a memorable one.
While training for the upcoming Pyeongchang Olympics, the gold medal skier found some time to talk about politics with CNN in Switzerland.
Asked how she feels about representing the United States, she told CNN, “Um, well, I 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.”
“I hope to represent the people of the United States, not the President.”
US skier @lindseyvonn tells @ChrissymacCNN she wouldn’t accept an invitation to the White House: https://t.co/DKE87vx2jX pic.twitter.com/nnMIkvBu1d
— CNN Sport (@cnnsport) December 7, 2017
Pretty strong words for an American athlete, though not unprecedented. Tom Brady famously declined to visit the White House after winning Super Bowl LI. NBA star Steph Curry also expressed disinterest in an invitation to the White House, which was later rescinded by President Trump.
Stephen Curry doesn’t hold back on whether he’ll vote to visit White House. pic.twitter.com/n2PBAtYQdA
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) September 22, 2017
Going to the White House is considered a great honor for a championship team.Stephen Curry is hesitating,therefore invitation is withdrawn!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 23, 2017
So while this might not be out of the ordinary for Lindsey Vonn to say she doesn’t want to visit the White House, it’s pretty premature. The Olympics don’t take place until February 2018, and given the pace of the recent news cycle, anything can happen.