admin
Megyn Kelly’s on-air disgust at the spectacle of an American-born star proudly competing for the Chinese flag is a reaction many patriotic Americans share: when a talent raised and made in our country turns that platform into a vehicle for foreign applause, it deserves scrutiny and a blunt conversation about loyalty. Kelly’s show has returned repeatedly to this issue, framing it as more than sportsmanship and squarely in the realm of national character and gratitude.
Eileen Gu was born and raised in San Francisco and, beginning in 2019, chose to compete internationally for China — a decision that made headlines and produced instant debate about identity and allegiance. The facts are straightforward: a U.S.-born athlete who switched national affiliation and has since been presented globally as a Chinese sporting star.
On the snow, Gu’s results were spectacular: at the Beijing Olympics she took home multiple medals and became an instant face of China’s winter-sports push, a success story the global media could not ignore. Her athletic feats are real and impressive, but achievement on a hill does not erase questions about how and why an American prodigy decided to front for a regime that routinely abuses basic freedoms.
The upset isn’t just about flags and podiums; it’s about statements and blind spots. Gu’s remarks about life in China — including a now-notorious suggestion that people there can simply download a VPN to get online — exposed either stunning naivete or willful tone-deafness to how the Chinese state polices information, and conservatives rightly seized on that gulf between image and reality. When a public figure minimizes the lived experience of millions under authoritarian control, Americans have every right to call it out.
Patriots from across the political spectrum have voiced sharp criticism, some even calling the decision a betrayal of the country that nurtured her talent and provided the freedoms she leveraged into fame. Voices on conservative outlets and commentators have not softened their stance, insisting that gratitude and allegiance to America should matter when you cash in on American opportunity.
This isn’t about hating success; it’s about defending the idea that American opportunity should not be used to bankroll foreign propaganda or to legitimize regimes that crush dissent. If Americans want to celebrate athletic excellence, fine — but let’s do it for those who represent our flag and our values, not those who convert American generosity into foreign PR. The conversation Megyn Kelly started is a wake-up call: champions of freedom should demand that the next generation of stars remember where they were forged and whose freedoms made their glory possible.
