Soccer star Megan Rapinoe hasn’t been shy about her distaste for President Trump and recently hinted at just how far she may go to combat his policies.
Rapinoe, a winger on the United States women’s national team that took home the World Cup in 2019, told VICE’s Anand Giridharadas in a Tuesday interview that she’s not “totally shutting the door” on the idea of running for office someday. When asked what position she’s ever fantasized vying for, Rapinoe said she’d want to be president.
“I mean, president, of course,” the National Women’s Soccer League player said. “If I’m going to do it, I want the biggest, baddest post. That way, I can be the president, but then I get to like pick everyone else who’s way smarter and way more qualified, way better at everything to actually do the things.”
“I’m not here being like, ‘I’m the smartest, I should be the president,'” she added. “I’m actually like, ‘I’m wholly unqualified for probably any position in government,’ but I’ve had that little bit of humility where I can be like, ‘You’re smarter, you do this, you do this, you do this.’”
Rapinoe sparred with Trump last year when she vowed not to visit the “f—ing” White House if her team won the World Cup before their victory.
Trump responded in a Twitter thread, touting what he believes are the administration’s biggest accomplishments in lowering the unemployment rate and instituting criminal justice reform.
“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,” Trump said. “Megan should never disrespect our Country, the White House, or our Flag, especially since so much has been done for her & the team. Be proud of the Flag that you wear. The USA is doing GREAT!”
Rapinoe did not hold back in her latest interview, calling Trump a “white nationalist” and accusing the president of dividing the country.
“Obviously, we have a white nationalist, I think, in the White House, and the spewing of hate and the othering of the rest of the country has only led to more rife between people and more despair and more anxiety and more fear going forward,” she said. “There’s been nothing to ease Donald Trump’s base, really. There’s been nothing. It’s not like he’s given them a bunch of jobs. It’s not like he’s made life really better for them. He’s just given them this false reason why maybe they’re not happy with their lives. There’s been no sort of path forward.”
Rapinoe also talked about how she perceives social justice matters would benefit the economy.
“I think we know that immigration does not cause a loss of jobs,” she said. “Immigration is actually good for the economy. We know that women in the workforce is good for the economy. We know that equality is good for the economy. We know that mass incarceration is bad for the economy. We know that mass incarceration is bad for society, and it’s going to cost us more money in the long run, the war on drugs whatever it may be, I think that that’s proven to be really detrimental.”
