WH: Olympic uniforms aren’t ‘a government decision’

Published July 13, 2012 4:00am ET



President Obama’s spokesman today explained that Americans shouldn’t blame the federal government for the fact that the U.S. Olympic team uniforms were made in China.

“The thing that I would point out is the United States Olympic Committee has said that they are a — they’re privately funded,” Deputy Press Secretary Josh Earnest said today.  “So this isn’t a government decision.”

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., took a more forceful stance. ” I think the Olympic committee should be ashamed of themselves,” Reid said yesterday. “I think they should be embarrassed. I think they should take all the uniforms, put them in a big pile and burn them and start all over again.”

Earnest suggested that “maybe for future Olympics, those kinds of things will be considered.