Former President Donald Trump is evidently spending his time in between dealing with various aspects of his multiple criminal cases on paying close attention to the fate of the U.S. team that, until recently, was competing in the Women’s World Cup.
The U.S. team has fallen out of the running after a loss to Sweden’s team. In comments he posted on his Truth Social account, Trump made the U.S. defeat about something else entirely. “The “shocking and totally unexpected” loss by the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team to Sweden is fully emblematic of what is happening to the our once great Nation under Crooked Joe Biden,” Trump said, though he failed to establish a clear connection between the soccer team and the president of the United States. “Many of our players were openly hostile to America – No other country behaved in such a manner, or even close. WOKE EQUALS FAILURE. Nice shot Megan, the USA is going to Hell!!! MAGA.”
Megan Rapinoe is a longtime player who has been publicly critical of Trump in the past, which doesn’t inherently equal an anti-American perspective. Trump isn’t America.
It’s also unclear how claimed political beliefs among the players on the U.S. team relate to their athleticism. What is Trump claiming, exactly? That “wokeness” — which Republicans sometimes struggle to define — creates physical problems? That fate is against those who believe in something somewhat different from the leading Republican Party talking points? How do so many Republicans still cast themselves as the party of free speech while so consistently seeking to effectively shut down the speech of their opponents who think or live differently? Florida GOP Governor Ron DeSantis and his team have imposed general restrictions on discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity in public school classrooms through the 12th grade. Is that “free”?
