UPDATE: Pelosi doubled down Friday.
Pelosi on American athletes in Beijing:
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) February 4, 2022
"I do not encourage them to speak out against the Chinese government there, because I fear for their safety if they do." pic.twitter.com/hxdRXYdikp
The 2022 Winter Olympics are officially underway in communist China. A number of athletes chose to boycott Friday morning's opening ceremonies in an effort to highlight the country's ongoing human rights abuses and responsibility for the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic.
"Olympic athletes from multiple countries who want to show solidarity with the victims of the Chinese government's human rights abuses have been quietly preparing to boycott the Opening Ceremonies, according to human rights activists who have been helping to educate and organize them," The Washington Post reports. "For several months, U.S.-based activists have been meeting with Olympic athletes from several Western countries to urge them to speak out on the Chinese government’s mass atrocities and severe repression of Uyghurs, Tibetans, Hong Kongers and other groups inside China. The athletes, facing the threat of punishment from the Chinese government if they talk about human rights, have almost all avoided addressing the subject in public."
But back in the United States, Democratic politicians are urging athletes to keep their criticism of the regime to themselves. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is advising athletes to keep their mouths shut for fear they will be punished.
"You're there to compete. Do not risk incurring the anger of the Chinese government because they are ruthless," Pelosi said.
Nancy Pelosi tells U.S. Olympic athletes not to "speak out" against the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing lest they risk "incurring the anger" of the Chinese government. pic.twitter.com/kzwSYdMJyM
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) February 3, 2022
Meanwhile, Democrat allies in the media are doing the same.
CBS's Gayle King sides with Nancy Pelosi in demanding U.S. athletes not engage in any form of protest during the Beijing #WinterOlympics for fear of causing a diplomatic crisis.
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) February 4, 2022
Amazing what protests corporate liberal elites are okay with versus not okay with. pic.twitter.com/IQ4DRRYHDW
On the ground in China, journalists are being carefully watched and taken away for "incorrect" reporting.
So it begins. pic.twitter.com/F5GCYVkVqt
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) February 4, 2022
Pelosi's comment highlights the very reason why a number of Republican lawmakers called for a full boycott of the Olympic Games in China.
The fact that @SpeakerPelosi doesn't want @Olympics @TeamUSA athletes to protest or demonstrate in China, while she praised them during the last olympics, shows why we shouldn't even be in China. She doesn't fear for you, she fears a loss of $$$.
— Chitown Pirate (@ChitownPirate) February 4, 2022