Following the U.S. women’s soccer team’s World Cup victory, co-captain Megan Rapinoe said Tuesday that nobody on her team will be going to a White House celebration.
“I don’t think anyone on the team has any interest in lending the platform that we’ve worked hard to build and the things that we fight for and the way that we live our life,” the soccer star said on “Anderson Cooper 360.” “I don’t think we want that to be co-opted or corrupted by this administration.”
Ms. Rapinoe had already squared off with President Trump in June after a months-old video was posted online by Eight by Eight magazine in which she said she wasn’t going to the “f——— White House” if the Americans win the World Cup.
“I am a big fan of the American Team, and Women’s Soccer, but Megan should WIN first before she TALKS! Finish the job! We haven’t yet invited Megan or the team, but I am now inviting the TEAM, win or lose,” Mr. Trump tweeted then.
A formal invitation has yet to be offered for a White House visit, but Ms. Rapinoe said her team will likely be going to Washington and visiting Congress.
“Yes to AOC, yes to Nancy Pelosi, yes to the bipartisan Congress, yes to Chuck Schumer, yes to anyone else that wants to invite us and have a substantive conversation and believe in the same things we believe in,” she said, referring to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez by her initials.
When asked if she had a message for the president, Ms. Rapinoe said, “Your message is excluding people. You’re excluding me. You’re excluding people that look like me. You’re excluding people of color.”
“You’re excluding, you know, Americans that maybe support you. I think that we need to have a reckoning with the message that you have and what you’re saying about Make America Great Again,” she added.
“I think that you’re harking back to an era that was not great for everyone. It might have been great for a few people and maybe America is great for a few people right now, but it’s not great for enough Americans in this world,” she said.
• Bailey Vogt can be reached at bvogt@washingtontimes.com.
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