No, UN Amb. Nikki Haley did not say the U.S will be skipping the Olympics

Yesterday, I talked about my love of the Winter Olympics. I wasn't exaggerating. I'm kind of obsessed with it. So, however bummed I might be about the Russians being banned, I'd be a thousand times more upset if the Americans decided to skip the games. This morning, there was a flurry of headlines suggesting that Pyeongchang, South Korea might be a little too close to North Korea for comfort. Bowl Cut Jr. would like nothing more than to strike at our athletes, so - allegedly - UN Ambassador Nikki Haley had suggested that the United States might be opting out the 2018 games. As is often the case with these types of stories, a closer examination of Haley's comments suggests that's not necessarily what's really happening.

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Yes, the security concerns are legitimate. We wouldn't want to see our athletes become the target of some sort of Nork plot. Clearly, our government it at least worried about how best to protect our team while it's in South Korea. ...But that doesn't mean they're not going. Much has been made of the Ambassador's "open question" comment, but that’s only part of the answer. As Haley puts it:

"I think those are conversations that we are going to have to have, but what have we always said? We don't ever fear anything, we live our lives. And certainly that is a perfect opportunity for all of them to go and do something they have worked so hard for. What we will do is make sure that we're taking every precaution possible to make sure that they're safe and to know everything that's going on around them."

In other words; settle down, media. This is the United States, and while we may be careful, we're never fearful. Preparations and precautions will be intense, but I suspect you'll see our skiers, snowboarders, figure skaters, and hockey players in competition this February.

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