WASHINGTON, Dec 20 — Former US President Donald Trump has spoken against the idea of boycotting the 2022 Winter Olympics in China, citing the experience of the 1980 Moscow Olympics.
“No, because I watched Jimmy Carter do it (in 1980) and it was terrible. It was terrible. It hurts the athletes. There are much more powerful things we can do than that,” Sputnik quoted Trump as saying in an interview with Fox News, broadcast on Sunday.
The ex-president went on to say that he would like to see the US competing and winning “every single medal”.
Earlier in the month, the Joe Biden administration announced that the US would not send an official delegation to the 2022 Winter Olympics due to alleged human rights violations by China. The move has been supported by several allies, including the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. Athletes from these countries are still free to compete. China responded by saying that attempts to politicise sports violate the Olympic Charter and that the boycott “wins no support and isolates the countries themselves”.
