I still don't understand what this means?? You either do a real boycott like the 1980 Moscow Olympics or by the Russians of the 1984 LA Olympics or you trivialize what a boycott means. Diplomats play no role in the games. They might as well have said the military is also boycotting the games.

This is a significant escalation, likely to embarrass China in an arena they care about… but I can’t help wonder if it’s just as likely to embarrass the US by showing the diminished state of our soft power if it doesn’t remain a leading story throughout the games.

Smoke and Mirrors by the White House.

The White House were never officially invited in the first place.

"You know that birthday party I wasn't invited to? Well, I'm not going."