• Sports
  • White House

Why Adam Rippon, Lindsey Vonn and More Winter Olympics Stars Skipped the White House Visit With Trump

5 minute read
Updated: | Originally published: ;

President Donald Trump hosted American athletes who competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics and Paralympics at the White House on Friday — but some of the PyeongChang games’ most famous faces opted to skip the ceremony.

Ice skater Adam Rippon, skier Lindsey Vonn and snowboarder Chloe Kim are among the marquee names who skipped the trip to Washington. Five American Olympians — including cross-country skier Jessie Diggins, freestyle skier David Wise and biathlete Maddie Phaneuf — made the trip to Washington to meet with Congressional leaders on Wednesday about their climate change advocacy work with Protect Our Winters Alliance. But they won’t attend the White House celebration because they made the “Congressional briefing their priority,” a spokesperson for the athletes told USA Today.

Some athletes cited Trump’s politics as their reason for skipping the White House meeting, while others said they had scheduling conflicts. Almost 200 athletes were expected to attend the event, according to the Washington Post.

President Trump did not mention the absences in his remarks at Friday’s event. Instead, he lauded some of the other athletes in attendance, including figure skater Vincent Zhou, the gold medal-winning women’s hockey team and the men’s curling team, which also took home gold at the 2018 Olympics.

Here are some of the big names —including Adam Rippon, Lindsey Vonn and Chloe Kim — who chose to skip the 2018 Winter Olympics celebration at the White House this year:

Adam Rippon

FSKATING-OLY-2018-PYEONGCHANG
USA's Adam Rippon competes in the men's single skating short program of the figure skating event during the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at the Gangneung Ice Arena in Gangneung on Feb. 16, 2018.Mladen Antonov—AFP/Getty Images

Rippon, a 2018 TIME 100 honoree and the first openly gay American athlete to qualify for the Winter Olympics, told TIME last month that he wouldn’t attend.

“This Administration ran on a platform of fear. I don’t think that’s any way for us to live. I would never want my sister to be spoken to the way Donald Trump has spoken to women. I would never want anyone to talk to my mother that way. And my mother would never tolerate one of her sons doing that, either. I think we can do better,” Rippon said.

The figure skater, who won a bronze medal as a member of the U.S. figure skating team in PyeongChang, famously said he didn’t want to meet with Vice President Mike Pence before the 2018 Olympics and criticized the Vice President’s views on gay marriage.

Lindsey Vonn

Lindsey Vonn Wins Bronze in Ladies Alpine Skiing Downhill at Winter Olympics Day 12
Bronze medallist Lindsey Vonn of the United States celebrates during the victory ceremony for the Ladies' Downhill on day 12 of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at Jeongseon Alpine Centre on Feb. 21, 2018 in Pyeongchang-gun, South Korea.Matthias Hangst—Getty Images

Vonn, who won a bronze medal in PyeongChang in downhill skiing, told CNN in December 2017 that she would “absolutely not” go to the White House after the 2018 Olympics, which took place in February.

“Well I hope to represent the people of the United States, not the president,” Vonn told CNN at the time. “I want to represent our country well. I don’t think that there are a lot of people currently in our government that do that.”

Chloe Kim

Tim Clayton—Corbis/Getty Images

Kim, the 17-year-old snowboarding sensation who won a gold medal at the 2018 Olympics, also didn’t attend Friday’s ceremony. She told the Washington Post she had a wedding to attend.

Kim, who was also a 2018 TIME 100 honoree, has spoken out about causes aligned against Trump in the past. In March, she tweeted her support for March for Our Lives, the massive gun control rally organized by the survivors of the deadly Parkland, Fla. shooting earlier this year.

Gus Kenworthy

100 Days Out Celebration - Team USA
Skier Gus Kenworthy attends the 100 Days Out Celebration in Times Square on Nov. 1, 2017.Mike Stobe—Getty Images/USOC

Freestyle skier Kenworthy, who is also openly gay, opted not to make the trip to Trump’s White House.

Kenworthy has spoken out about Trump in the past, telling TIME in July 2017: “I think we had been two steps forward with Obama. And it’s a step back with the Trump administration.”

Erin Hamlin

2018 Winter Olympic Games - Opening Ceremony
Flag bearer Erin Hamlin leads Team USA at the Opening Ceremony of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games.Ryan Pierse—Getty Images

Hamlin, who served as the flag bearer for Team USA in the 2018 Opening Ceremony, didn’t attend Friday’s festivities, according to USA Today. The luger said she planned on visiting the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center on Friday morning instead.

Mikaela Shiffrin

PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games
Silver medalist Mikaela Shiffrin #19 of the United States at the presentations after the Alpine Skiing - Ladies' Alpine Combined Slalom at Jeongseon Alpine Centre on February 22, 2018 in PyeongChang, South Korea.Tim Clayton - Corbis—Corbis/Getty Images

Shiffrin, who won a gold medal in giant slalom at the 2018 Olympics, chose not to visit the White House, according to the Washington Post. She did not speak publicly about her decision, but told CNN in 2016: “The value that [Trump] portrays to everyone is not ideal… I don’t think women are going to be looking to him. I think they still look to Hillary [Clinton].”

Shaun White

Snowboard - Winter Olympics Day 5
Shaun White of United States celebrates after winning the Men's Halfpipe Final at Phoenix Snow Park on Feb. 14, 2018 in Pyeongchang-gun, South Korea.Ian MacNicol—Getty Images

Shaun White, the legendary snowboarder who took home a gold medal in the halfpipe event in PyeongChang, was another notable name who skipped Friday’s festivities, according to the Post. He told the Post he was attending a wedding.

Mirai Nagasu

Mirai Nagasu Skating
Mirai Nagasu of the United States competes during the Ladies Single Skating Free Skating at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games on Feb. 23, 2018 in Gangneung, South KoreaHarry How—Getty Images

The figure skater, who became the first American woman to land a triple axel in PyeongChang, told the Washington Post that she was too busy with rehearsals for Dancing With the Stars to make the trip to Washington.

More Must-Reads From TIME

Write to Samantha Cooney at samantha.cooney@time.com