SALT LAKE CITY — President Donald Trump said Wednesday that U.S. women’s soccer national team star Megan Rapinoe “should WIN first before she TALKS” after she said she would turn down an invitation to the White House, according to The Hill.
Trump released a series of tweets on Wednesday that said “leagues and teams love coming to the White House.” He said he is a “big fan of the American Team, and Women’s Soccer,” but added that “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,” Trump tweeted.
Trump previously told The Hill he doesn’t think it’s appropriate for her to protest the national anthem. As I reported for the Deseret News, Rapinoe has previously knelt during “The Star-Spangled Banner.” During the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, Rapinoe has chosen to stop singing during the anthem as a form of protest.
She told Yahoo News last month that she opposes President Donald Trump’s administrative decisions.
“I feel like it’s kind of defiance in and of itself to just be who I am and wear the jersey, and represent it," she told Yahoo News. “Because I’m as talented as I am, I get to be here, you don’t get to tell me if I can be here or not.”
Rapinoe told Sports Illustrated she wouldn’t attend a White House event, either.
"I am not going to fake it, hobnob with the president, who is clearly against so many of the things that I am (for) and so many of the things that I actually am," Rapinoe told SI. "I have no interest in extending our platform to him."