Vice President JD Vance arrived with his family in Milan Thursday morning ahead of the Opening Ceremony for the 2026 Winter Olympics on Friday.
Vance cheered on the U.S. women’s national hockey team to a 5-1 victory in a preliminary matchup with Czechia later Thursday.
Vance will lead a group of delegates at Friday’s Opening Ceremony, including second lady Usha Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. Ambassador to Italy Tilman Fertitta while in Milan, according to reports.
The opening ceremony where Vance will lead the delegates is set to take place Feb. 6 at noon MST — 8 p.m. in Italy — airing on NBC and streaming on Peacock. A primetime rebroadcast will follow at 6 p.m. MST.
Vance says the roughly two-week sporting event is unique because of its unifying qualities.
“The whole country — Democrat, Republican, independent — we’re all rooting for you and we’re cheering for you,” Vance said.
He added that his wife, Usha Vance, usually doesn’t care about sports, but every two years she is engulfed with the events as they unfold and insists that he watch with her. Vance noted the uniquely unifying qualities the Olympics hold to captivate the attention of individuals who aren’t sports fans, such as his wife.
Vance follows the example of past vice presidents, including Joe Biden, who attended the Vancouver Olympics in 2010, and Mike Pence, who attended Pyeongchang in 2018. Kamala Harris did not attend Beijing in 2022 due to boycotts over human rights concerns.
Following his trip to Italy, Vance will visit Armenia and Azerbaijan, tasked by President Donald Trump to build on a deal ending 40 years of conflict between the two countries. The deal hopes to strengthen the U.S. presence in the two former Soviet republics as Russian influence weakens in the region.