“Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.” — Mark Twain

Last month, U.S. Olympic gold-medalist Lindsey Vonn took a page out of Twain’s book when discussing her upcoming trip to Pyeongchang, South Korea, for the Winter Olympics. “I take the Olympics very seriously and what they mean and what they represent, what walking under our flag means in the opening ceremony,” she told CNN. “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.”

Photo by Doug Haney, via U.S. Ski Team/Flickr.

Vonn then made it abundantly clear that she is not skiing for President Trump. “Well, I hope to represent the people of the United States, not the president,” Vonn told CNN’s “Alpine Edge.” Vonn also joined the growing ranks of American athletes who’ve said they would decline a trip to the Trump White House. “I have to win to be invited,” she said, before correcting herself. “No, actually I think every U.S. team member is invited, so no, I won’t go.”

While many people praised Vonn for standing up against Trump, she also received some vulgar comments from his supporters. She was also labeled “un-patriotic” by Fox News personlities Tomi Lahren and Ainsley Earhardt.

During a training session for the upcoming FIS Alpine World Cup Women’s Downhill, Vonn wore a speed suit modeled after the outfit worn my Marvel Comics’ Captain America.

“Who said Captain America has to be a man anyways…” Vonn captioned a photo of herself in a Captain America speed suit. Although Vonn has yet to comment on her outfit, one can’t help but see it as an act of defiance toward those who have questioned her patriotism. Vonn stands firmly behind the belief that Olympians push themselves to their physical limits not to please politicians, but to please the American people they represent.