The people who booed US Vice President JD Vance at the Winter Olympics were demonstrating "European pride" after a series of critical comments about Europe by American officials. This was stated by the top EU diplomat Kaia Kallas, quoted by "Politico".
Vance and his wife Usha Vance were greeted with boos and jeers at the "San Siro" stadium in Milan last week, when they appeared briefly on a giant screen waving American flags during the opening ceremony.
When asked about the booing, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy said: "Well, I guess we've heard a lot of not-so-nice words from the United States about Europe".
"Of course, our public also has pride, European pride. It shows," she added.
Her remarks reflect the tense state of EU-US relations ahead of this week's Munich Security Conference, where European leaders will meet with members of US President Donald Trump's administration.
At last year's Munich conference, Vance shocked many Europeans with critical comments about the EU, which he accused of stifling free speech and risking civilizational obliteration through migration.
Vance and other Trump administration officials have made other dismissive statements, with the vice president recently accusing Europeans of double standards in the way they treat US officials.
"The Europeans are so friendly in private and willing to make a lot of compromises, and then they attack us publicly and say, 'We're not going to work with the Americans. We're not going to do anything with the Americans,'" Vance said on Saturday. "I'm sorry. This is all fake".
He made his remarks shortly after Trump threatened to annex Greenland, a self-governing Danish territory in the Arctic.
Although invited, Vance does not plan to attend this year's Munich Security Conference.
Instead, Secretary of State Marco Rubio will lead the U.S. delegation to the conference.