{"id":1404379,"date":"2026-02-05T07:18:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T12:18:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thenewsherald.com\/?p=1404379&preview=true&preview_id=1404379"},"modified":"2026-02-05T13:18:06","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T18:18:06","slug":"vance-rallies-us-olympians-milan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thenewsherald.com\/2026\/02\/05\/vance-rallies-us-olympians-milan\/","title":{"rendered":"Vance says the Olympics are \u2018one of the few things\u2019 that unite Americans"},"content":{"rendered":"

By MICHELLE L. PRICE, Associated Press<\/strong><\/p>\n

MILAN (AP) \u2014 U.S. Vice President\u00a0JD Vance<\/a>\u00a0arrived in Milan with his family Thursday, telling U.S. athletes competing in the\u00a0Milan Cortina Winter Games<\/a>\u00a0that the competition \u201cis one of the few things that unites the entire country” before taking his family to see a hockey game.<\/p>\n

It’s the first stop for Vance on a trip combining diplomacy and sports. He is leading U.S. President Donald Trump’s delegation to the\u00a02026 Winter Olympics<\/a>\u00a0and later stopping in Armenia and Azerbaijan in a show of support for a\u00a0peace agreement brokered by the White House<\/a>\u00a0last year.<\/p>\n

Vance stood to applaud goals scored by the\u00a0U.S. women\u2019s hockey team<\/a>, which beat the Czech Republic 5-1 in the preliminary round game at the Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena.<\/p>\n

The vice president earlier told athletes the trip is a highlight of his time in office. \u201cThe whole country \u2014 Democrat, Republican, independent \u2014 we\u2019re all rooting for you and we\u2019re cheering for you,\u201d Vance said.<\/p>\n