Jimmy Carter Boycotted The 1980 Olympics

The hostage crisis in Iran in 1979–1981; the energy crisis in 1979; the Three Mile Island nuclear accident; the Nicaraguan Revolution; and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan signaled the end of his presidency. By ending détente and imposing a food embargo against the Soviet Union in response to the invasion, Carter exacerbated the Cold War. President Jimmy Carter declares on March 21st, 1980, that the United States will abstain from the Moscow Summer Olympics. The announcement was made after Carter gave the Soviet Union until February 20, 1980, to withdraw its forces from Afghanistan. The country had never before failed to participate in the competition. Carter was followed by the likes of Canada, West Germany, Japan, and over 50 more nations. The Soviet Union was the next country to back out of the Games when they were moved to Los Angeles in 1984.

Carter imposed a trade embargo on two items from the United States that the nation sorely needed: grain and information technology, in addition to the boycott, to put more pressure on the Soviets to end their involvement in the war in Afghanistan. In ocean waters that were under American control, he also prohibited Soviet fishing. Carter urged the U.N. to offer military supplies, food, and other aid to Afghanistan's neighbors, particularly Iran and Pakistan, in order to help them fend off further Soviet incursion.