Outspoken World Cup soccer star Megan Rapinoe blasted President Donald Trump’s comments calling on four progressive congresswomen of color to get out of the U.S. But Rapinoe also said she is energized by the backlash against Trump.
“It’s disgusting, to be honest,” Rapinoe said Saturday on “The Van Jones Show” on CNN, referring to Trump’s tweets against Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (Minn.), Ayanna Pressley (Mass.) and Rashida Tlaib (Mich.). “To say it’s disappointing ... doesn’t even come close.”
She also called the “send her back” chant from Trump’s rally — referring to Omar, the only one of the lawmakers not born in the U.S. — “sad and disgusting and despicable” in an interview published Saturday in The Charlotte Observer.
“I think we’re one step away from just saying a racial slur on national television, from the president of the United States,” she added. “At every step it’s shocking. I hope people don’t stop being shocked by it all, because it’s truly the worst of the worst.”
But the co-captain and star midfielder of the world champion U.S. women’s national soccer team also told Jones that she was heartened by the negative reaction to Trump’s racism. The House voted to condemn his message — and Omar was greeted with cheers when she returned to Minnesota earlier this week.
“The more that we ... are upset about it and don’t accept that kind of behavior from all sides, then the better place we’re going to be,” Rapinoe said on CNN.
Asked about the Democrats who hope to challenge Trump in the presidential election, Rapinoe told Jones she has “certainly knocked some names off the list” of candidates. But Rapinoe said she’s very much “interested” in Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), “of course,” and in Sen. Kamala Harris (Calif.). Warren is “just so smart,” Rapinoe said. “She has this clear message, and she’s powerful.”
“Maybe it’s time for us as a country to just embrace a woman” as president, she added.
Asked by The Charlotte Observer whether Trump crossed a line telling the congresswomen to get out of the country, Rapinoe responded, “All the lines were crossed forever ago for Donald Trump, dating back to birtherism.”
Rapinoe rocketed into the political arena when she was recorded in an interview before her team’s World Cup victory saying there was no way she’d visit the “fucking White House” if invited. She has called Trump a racist and misogynist and said he “doesn’t fight for the same things we fight for,” referring to her teammates.
Check out Rapinoe’s take on the Democratic presidential candidates, including Sen. Bernie Sanders, in the clip above.
