JD Vance has warned Team USA athletes after he and his wife, Usha, received resounding boos at the Winter Olympics opening ceremony.It was a frosty reception for the couple in Milan, where they both attended to support the US Olympians competing.Vance and his wife were booed at the ceremony, with one commentator from CBC announcing: “There’s the vice president, JD Vance… oops… those are not… eh, those are a lot of boos for him — whistling, jeering, some applause.”The vice president has now offered some advice to the athletes, which many are interpreting as a warning, and can be summarised as ‘stop it’.

He urged them on CNN: “You’re there to play a sport, and you’re there to represent your country and hopefully win a medal.”You’re not there to pop off about politics.”Vance went on: “Yes, you’re going to have some Olympic athletes who pop off about politics. I feel like that happens at every Olympics.”He then asked for solidarity, saying: “My advice to them would be to try to bring the country together, and when you’re representing the country, you’re representing Democrats and Republicans.”Elsewhere, he told reporters: “When Olympic athletes enter the political arena, they should expect some pushback,” and insisted: “The way to bring the country together is not to show up in a foreign country and attack the President … but it’s to play your sport.”To those who weren’t booing, he said: “Most Olympic athletes, whatever their politics, are doing a great job,” and said that they ‘certainly enjoy the support of the entire country’.