President Donald Trump sparked widespread ridicule Sunday after lashing out at American Olympic skier Hunter Hess, an extraordinary attack that critics said crossed a new line of presidential pettiness. Trump branded the 27-year-old Olympian a “real loser” after Hess mildly acknowledged overseas that representing the U.S. felt complicated amid current events at home, prompting backlash from commentators who called the president’s behavior humiliating and unprecedented. Observers noted that even during past Olympic protests, including an iconic 1968 demonstration by Tommie Smith and John Carlos, sitting presidents avoided publicly targeting American athletes — a contrast critics say underscores how Trump’s MAGA-era grievance politics are dragging the country’s global reputation down.
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