Less than 24 hours after the US women’s national team suffered a shocking defeat at the hands of their longtime nemesis Sweden in the second round of the 2023 Women’s World Cup, Donald Trump gloated about the team’s elimination on social media.
The former president, a longtime vocal critic of the team, specifically Megan Rapinoe, a blue-haired talisman and outspoken LGBTQ+ advocate who missed a crucial penalty during the final moments of the game, said that the team’s loss is “fully emblematic of what is happening to our great Nation under Crooked Joe Biden”.
“Many of our players were openly hostile to America — no other country behaved in such a manner, or even close,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “WOKE EQUALS FAILURE. Nice shot, Megan, the U.S. is going to Hell!!! MAGA.”
The conservative backlash against the USWNT encapsulates a recurring pattern in American society – one where sports serves as an arena for the theater of culture wars. This spectacle, carefully curated and exploited by political figures like Trump, has magnified existing fault lines and kindled debates surrounding core values.
Trump’s open hatred for the USWNT dates back to 2019, when Rapinoe, a lesbian and then co-captain of the team, declared that she would not be visiting the White House if they won that year’s World Cup in France. Many of the team’s star players supported Rapinoe, who was branded “unpatriotic” by Trump and his supporters. The USWNT went on to win the 2019 World Cup, their fourth overall title, and never ended up making it to the White House.
At the time, Rapinoe represented everything that Trump seemed to detest; she was an outspoken woman with unapologetic political views that included her staunch support for LGBTQ+ and trans rights, as well as the Black Lives Matter movement. She was the first white athlete to kneel during the national anthem in solidarity with Colin Kapernick, and she was one of the leading figures in the USWNT’s equal pay struggle. In short, she represented a set of ideals that directly contradicted the former president’s sensibilities.
Nevertheless, Rapinoe, who scored a penalty to help seal the USWNT’s 2019 world cup victory, was one of several players who missed a penalty during Sunday’s dramatic shoot-out with Sweden. Naturally, Trump did not miss the opportunity to reignite his feud with the two-time World Cup champion.
The former president’s reaction mirrored that of other conservatives, many of whom openly relished the USWNT’s misfortunes. Notable conservatives such as Charlie Kirk and Clay Travis mocked Rapinoe on X, formerly known as Twitter. Others labeled the team “un-American” and “ungrateful”.
“I’m glad they lost,” wrote a contributor for the Blaze, an American conservative media company. “The attitude of the USWNT reflect such poor values it’s sickening.”
The USWNT, which has stood as a symbol of female empowerment, gender equality, LGBTQ+ rights and a steadfast commitment to social and racial justice, seems diametrically opposed to certain conservative values, making them an ideal target for political maneuvering.
In Trump’s case, the former president is leveraging his conflict with Rapinoe and the USWNT to energize his supporters and score easy political points. By framing himself as an eager adversary of the USWNT, Trump is consolidating a stance that questions the team’s patriotism, while framing himself as the savior of traditional American values. Trump also happens to be engaging in this renewed battle with the USWNT just days after being indicted on felony charges for working to overturn the results of the 2020 election in the lead-up to the Jan. 6 insurrection.
Despite the onslaught from conservatives, Rapinoe, who announced last month that she planned to retire after the World Cup, says she has nothing but gratitude for her time on the field.
“I still feel really grateful and joyful and I know it’s the end and that’s sad,” Rapinoe said after the game. “But to know that this is the only time I’ve been in [a penalty shootout] this early [at a World Cup] says a lot about the success I’ve been able to have, just how much I’ve loved being able to play for this team and this country.
“Yeah, this has been an honor.”
