Guess which presidential candidate has tweeted nothing about the 2016 Summer Olympics?

Team USA sweeps the women 100m hurdles in Rio Olympics

(Image credit: Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)

last updated 22 August 2016

By pretty much any measure, Team USA absolutely dominated the competition at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. With 121 total medals, the U.S. had almost double the number of second-place Britain, with 67, and No. 3 China, with 70 (fewer silvers and golds than Britain), and America's 46 gold medals beat the total medal counts of every country from No. 5 Germany (42 medals) on down. President Obama tweeted out his congratulations on Sunday, the day of the final ceremony in Rio:

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton tweeted out congratulations to various winners throughout the Games, with a special focus on female athletes, both past and present. Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson tweeted out an article about a joke he made about Donald Trump watching the Olympics and "seeing how high the Mexican pole vaulters go," and Green Party nominee Jill Stein tweeted out her congrats to Simone Biles and Simone Manuel. The only presidential candidate who apparently tweeted absolutely nothing about the Rio Olympics was Donald Trump.

There could be lots of reasons for Trump's Twitter silence on, of all things, the Olympic Games. Maybe he hates the Olympics, or Brazil, or is too busy, you know, running for president to pay attention to what American athletes are doing in South America. But USA Today's editorial board sees the Games as simply off-message for Trump's "America doesn't win anymore" argument. If America isn't supposed to win, "Team USA didn't get the memo," USA Today said. "China and Mexico, which are supposedly leaving the U.S. in the dust, ended up with 70 and 5 medals, respectively." The editorialists continued:

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What does this have to do with trade, immigration, national security or the other areas where Trump says the U.S. is losing ground? More than you might think. While his campaign has trafficked in xenophobia and white nationalism, Team USA has showcased America in all its glory as a multicultural and economic powerhouse. In basketball, swimming and other sports, in fact, America is so dominant that other nations are the ones tired of all that winning. [USA Today]

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.

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