Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) said Tuesday on MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports” that President Joe Biden not sending an envoy of diplomats to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing but allowing American athletes to participate in the games was the correct way to proceed.
Mitchell asked, “Is a ‘diplomatic boycott’ the way to go? Some members of both parties what a complete boycott including the athletes.”
Romney said, “I applaud the decision to say that our diplomats are not going to be going to Beijing, given the outrage and the predation coming from the Chinese Communist Party. That’s the right step. I understand people who feel that we should not send our athletes either. That happened during the Jimmy Carter years against Russia. But these athletes trained their entire lives to prepare for the games at this time, and I don’t feel the burden of our international policies should fall on the shoulders of these young people. So let’s make our statement loud and clear by not sending our diplomats to Beijing.”
He added, “These young people and their families have sacrificed their entire lives to be the best in the world and to be prepared for these games. And I, frankly, want to hear the United States national anthem play in Beijing.”
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