Megan RapinoewantsDonald Trumpto focus more on inclusivity.
“I would say, ‘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,’ ” Rapinoe, 34, revealed.
“We need to have a reckoning with the message that you have, and what you’re saying about, ‘Make America Great Again,’ ” she continued. “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.”
Staring into the camera, Rapinoe appeared to be speaking directly to Trump.
“We have a responsibility, each and every one of us — you have an incredible responsibility, as the chief of this country — to take care of every single person, and you need to do better for everyone,” she said.
Trump shot backin a rant on Twitter, telling Rapinoe her words were premature.
“I am a big fan of the American Team, and Women’s Soccer, but Megan should WIN first before she TALKS! Finish the job!” Trump tweeted. “We haven’t yet … invited Megan or the team, but I am now inviting the TEAM, win or lose.”
“Megan should never disrespect our Country, the White House, or our Flag, especially since so much has been done for her & the team,” he added. “Be proud of the Flag that you wear. The USA is doing GREAT!”
While Rapinoe and the women’s team have yet to be formally invited to the White House, they have received invitations to visit Washington, D.C. from Democratic lawmakers like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York.
Those invitations will be happily accepted, Rapinoe said on CNN. “There are so many other people [besides the president] that I would rather talk to and have meaningful conversations that could really affect change in Washington than going to the White House,” she said.
“This is such a special moment for us, and to be able to sort of leverage this moment and talk about the things that we want to talk about and to celebrate like this with the leaders of our country is an incredible moment,” Rapinoe added. “So 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 real substantive conversation, and that believes in the same things that we believe in.”
BPI/Shutterstock
Rapinoe has been an outspoken social and political advocate — becoming one of the first athletes to kneel in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick, leading the lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation for equal pay, and fighting for LGBTQ rights.
“I think that I’m particularly and uniquely and very deeply American,” Rapinoe toldESPN in a July 3 interview. “If we want to talk about the ideals that we stand for, all the songs and the anthem and sort of what we were founded on, I think I’m extremely American.”
She stressed that the United States is a great country and she considers herself lucky to be an American. But it “doesn’t mean we can’t get better” or “shouldn’t always strive to be better.”
“I think that this country was founded on a lot of great ideals,but it was also founded on slavery,” she noted. “And I think we just need to be really honest about that and be really open in talking about that, so we can reconcile that and hopefully move forward and make this country better for everyone.”
source: people.com
