The United States striker Megan Rapinoe has declared that she will turn down President Donald Trump’s invitation to the White House amid U.S.A women’s soccer team World Cup championship.
By the end of the tournament, Rapinoe has won the Golden Boot, the Golden Ball, and won FIFA player of the match during the final match against Netherlands’s team.
The legend player made headlines not only for her trophies and astonishing performance during the FIFA Women’s World Cup, but also for her criticism of Donald Trump, her support of LGBT rights,and women payment equality in football.
In CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360 show, the player has announced that neither her nor any of her teammates will go to the White House following President Trump’s invitation.
The player said: “I would not go and every teammate that I’ve talked to explicitly about it would not go,
She added: “I don’t think anyone on the team has any interest in lending the platform that we’ve worked so hard to build and the things that we fight for and the way that we live our life, I don’t think we want that to be co-opted or corrupted by this administration.”
Commenting on Donald Trump’s slogan «Make America Great Again”, Rapinoe said: “I would say that your message is excluding people. You’re excluding me. You’re excluding people that look like me. You’re excluding people of colour”
Naturally, U.S President responded to the footballer’s claims on Twitter.
Indeed, as a response, he tweeted: “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!”
In fact, this is not the first time that a victorious team decline Trump’s invitation, many teams did so including Golden State Warriors and last year’s Super Bowl winners, the Philadelphia Eagles.
