JD Vance’s VERY large motorcade causes chaos at Winter Olympics as clueless figure skater is left scrambling
J.D. Vance’s motorcade in Milan delayed numerous athletes and staff from traveling to events during the Winter Olympics in Italy.
Alysa Liu, a figure skater for the U.S. team, was among those caught in the outage after the vice president’s large motorcade blocked entry to the Milan ice rink, with the athlete nearly missing her skate.
His coach, Phillip DiGuglielmo, told the Washington Post that Liu had only a few minutes left, put on his costume and arrived on the ice in time for his short program.
According to the newspaper, Liu was initially running late because she could not pack all her belongings in time; Liu states that he seems to ‘always live in a state of controlled chaos’.
She finished second behind Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto, giving the United States a two-point lead over Japan in the three-day race.
Vance and the U.S. delegation flew to Milan early Friday on multiple planes carrying personnel, security personnel, food supplies and vehicles.
The overland convoy of dozens of Chevy Suburbans struggled through the narrow streets of Milan.
Italian local news channel filmed one of the vehicles almost hitting a car with Italian license plates.
J.D. Vance’s massive motorcade blocked access roads around the Milan ice rink on Friday, delaying athletes and staff from getting to events
Team USA figure skater Alysa Liu was caught in the disruption and arrived with just minutes left after Vance’s motorcade blocked the entrance to the arena.
The vice president faced backlash throughout his trip.
Despite the IOC’s call for respect, spectators booed when Vance and his wife Usha appeared on arena screens during Thursday’s Parade of Nations.
The response follows confirmation that ICE agents will be involved in Olympic security.
Authorities insisted agents would not use the aggressive enforcement tactics seen in the United States, but protests broke out across Italy.
Milan mayor Giuseppe Sala condemned the deployment, calling ICE a ‘killer militia’ and saying its agents were not welcome in the city.
Vance long defended the agency, at one point claiming that the ICE agent who killed Renee Good had “absolute immunity,” before backtracking.
He also labeled Good and Alex Pretti, another victim killed during the Minnesota ICE protests, as ‘domestic terrorists.’
Vance attended Friday’s figure skating competition and Thursday’s women’s hockey game between the United States and the Czech Republic.
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US Vice President JD Vance attends the women’s qualifying round Group A Ice Hockey match between the USA and Finland at the Milan Rho Ice Hockey Arena at the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games
A coordinated sabotage attack sparked fires and severed cables on key railway lines near Bologna, causing major delays of up to 2.5 hours on the first full day of the Winter Olympics.
A line switch cabinet near Pesaro was set on fire before dawn, power lines were cut in Bologna and a primitive explosive device was found nearby, causing the temporary closure of the state-owned Ferrovie dello Stato line between Bologna and Venice.
The Italian Ministry of Transport described the attacks as ‘unprecedented’ but said they would not damage the country’s image and noted that railway services returned to normal in the afternoon. No group claimed responsibility.
The disruption came as thousands of people marched in Milan against the environmental impact of the Games and the presence of US ICE agents.
Police fired tear gas and used water cannon on a smaller group trying to reach the highway near the Santagiulia ice hockey arena.
The larger protest remained peaceful and included families, students and activists opposing Olympic construction, U.S. security involvement and fossil fuel sponsors.
