In recent days, the U.S. women’s soccer team won the Women’s World Cup for the second time in a row, bringing their message of inclusion to the world stage — in stark contrast to the message being touted by President Donald Trump on a consistent basis. This weekend, team co-captain Megan Rapinoe went on Meet the Press to discuss her victory and her opposition to the Trump agenda, which she proudly asserted in the days leading up to the overall victory by asserting that if it happened, she wouldn’t be going to the “fucking White House.” This time around on Meet the Press, she firmly established herself as truly representing and part of the drive of the people of the United States, as opposed to Trump, who she derided as drifting off into egomania.
As she put it to host Chuck Todd:
‘I think Trump’s message excludes people that look like me and that are me of course, but it excludes a lot of people in his base as well. I think that he’s trying to divide, not unite so we can all conquer.’
Check it out:
EXCLUSIVE: World Cup champion Megan Rapinoe responds to her decision to not go to the Trump White House #MTP #IfItsSunday@mPinoe: “I think Trump’s message excludes people that look like me and are me … he is trying to divide so he can conquer, not unite so we can all conquer” pic.twitter.com/FT7KudJCFi
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) July 14, 2019
On the opposite side of that, Rapinoe explains that she and her team stand for key pushes like advancing LGBTQ rights and securing equal pay for women and minorities, which the team has taken to court via a lawsuit against their parent organization for paying the men’s team at dramatically higher rates. She certainly has backing for her position here — in the stadium after the U.S. team won the Women’s World Cup this time around, the crowds burst into chants of “Equal pay! Equal pay!”
Setting herself further apart from Trump, she explained that she’d definitely hope to reach out to the people in Trump’s base who have been left behind by his behavior. She told Todd that on the occasion of speaking with one:
‘I think that I would try to share our message. Do you believe that all people are created equal? Do you believe that equal pay should be mandated? Do you believe that everyone should have healthcare? Do you believe that we should treat everyone with respect? I think those are the basics of what we’re talking about.’
Trump has personally derided Rapinoe for her pronouncement that she wouldn’t be going to the White House in the case of a team victory, rambling on Twitter at the time that she should focus on the game — a reporter asked her the question, she didn’t spit it out — and that she shouldn’t disrespect the United States, although the honor and dignity of the United States or whatever is definitely not synonymous with MAGA.
For the record, the U.S. women’s soccer team did go to the White House following their Women’s World Cup victory while now former President Barack Obama was in office. The U.S. women’s soccer team is far from the only prominent champion team to shun the possibility of visiting the Trump White House. For instance, although they visited when they won under Obama, the Golden State Warriors skipped the White House after their championship win under Trump — although they did visit with Obama again.
Featured Image via screenshot
