Former President Donald Trump attacked the members of the United States women's soccer team, claiming players would have won the gold medal and not the bronze at the Olympics if they weren't "woke."
Trump issued the following statement via his Save America PAC:
"Woke means you lose, everything that is woke goes bad, and our soccer team certainly has. If our soccer team, headed by a radical group of Leftist Maniacs, wasn't woke, they would have won the Gold Medal instead of the Bronze."
Trump went on to say:
"They should replace the wokesters with Patriots and they'd start winning again."
Trump issued his statement after the women's team took third place and the bronze medal in Tokyo after defeating Australia 4-3 on Thursday. They were not able to compete for a gold medal after losing to Canada 1-0 earlier in the week.
But Trump reserved a certain disdain for star player Megan Rapinoe, the "woman with the purple hair":
"The woman with the purple hair played terribly and spends too much time thinking about Radical Left politics and not doing her job!"
Trump puts out a statement railing against the U.S. women\u2019s national soccer teampic.twitter.com/yRSlLxgOqU— Andrew Solender (@Andrew Solender) 1628170829
Rapinoe became the target of Trump's derision and made national headlines after she said she would not accept an invitation to the White House.
Trump's jab at Rapinoe references that long-held grudge.
\u201cI\u2019m not going to the fucking White House.\u201d - @mPinoepic.twitter.com/sz1ADG2WdT— Eight by Eight (@Eight by Eight) 1561489462
Rapinoe, who is an advocate for numerous LGBT organizations, including the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN) and Athlete Ally, has been a vocal critic of the Trump administration and became a punching bag for the right after she chose to stand in silence for the national anthem.
Many social media users defended Rapinoe and her teammates following Trump's statement.
Let me make sure I have this right:\n\nTrump claims to be America First but he puts out a statement attacking the US women\u2019s soccer team?\n\nI guess if Megan Rapinoe wants Trump\u2019s support, she better beat up some cops with the flag.— Rex Chapman\ud83c\udfc7\ud83c\udffc (@Rex Chapman\ud83c\udfc7\ud83c\udffc) 1628184810
Don't tell Donald Trump the US women's soccer team was beaten by an equally "woke" Canadian soccer team. It'll make his head spin.— Barb \ud83c\udfd2\ud83c\udde8\ud83c\udde6 (@Barb \ud83c\udfd2\ud83c\udde8\ud83c\udde6) 1628172310
just watching cnn TRUMP BLAMED "WOKEISM" ON OLYMPIC LOSS OF THEIR WOMEN'S SOCCER???\n\nTHERE ISN'T EVEN A CORRELATION LET ALONE A CAUSATION???— TechKenji ~ Comms: (0/3) (@TechKenji ~ Comms: (0/3)) 1628135070
Trump\u2019s statement about the USA soccer team shows his psychosis & dementia deterioration. No one around him cares. They just want to grift off phony fundraising. His oldest son, rather than face reality, habitually projects Trump\u2019s deterioration. These are the most vile of people— Tom Joseph (@Tom Joseph) 1628175361
Megan Rapinoe scored two amazing goals this morning to lead the United States to a Bronze medal. Trump couldn\u2019t even walk down a ramp without clinging on to the railing for dear life. RT if you support Megan and the US Women\u2019s Soccer Team over Trump!— Occupy Democrats (@Occupy Democrats) 1628222675
Rapinoe has not responded to Trump's callout, but it's not like she needs to. Trump has a habit of jumping from topic to topic, so it's likely he'll forget about her—and the women's soccer team—as soon as something else catches his eye. And if being part of the "Radical Left" means endorsing Elizabeth Warren, as Rapinoe did in 2020, then she could do far worse.
It's likely she'll lead the women's soccer team to winning the World Cup in 2023, so she honestly she has bigger fish to fry!
Ash Stanton/Facebook
Laura Sprinkle/Facebook
Akira Karasu/Facebook
Cevanna Gilbert/Facebook
Troy Adam/Facebook
@GovPressOffice/X
@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social