Vance Leads U.S. Olympic Delegation, Then Heads to Armenia–Azerbaijan

Vice President JD Vance arrived in Milan on Feb. 5 to lead President Donald Trump’s official delegation to the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, telling U.S. athletes the Games are "one of the few things that unites the entire country" and that Americans of all political stripes are "rooting" for them. Vance, traveling with his family, plans to attend Friday’s opening ceremony alongside second lady Usha Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, U.S. Ambassador Tilman Fertitta and several former Olympic gold medalists, including Apolo Ohno and Jocelyne and Monique Lamoureux. The White House has signaled this may be one of the vice president’s few foreign trips this year as Trump and his team prioritize domestic travel ahead of the 2026 midterms. After Italy, Vance will visit Armenia and Azerbaijan to build on a U.S.-brokered peace deal that reopened transport links, expanded cooperation with Washington in energy, technology and the economy, and created a planned "Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity" corridor connecting Azerbaijan to its Nakhchivan exclave. The visit underscores the administration’s view that the agreement strengthens U.S. influence in the South Caucasus at Russia’s expense and highlights how the White House is using Olympic sports diplomacy as a springboard for regional geopolitical follow‑through.