'I expect him to have a lot better things to do' - USWNT star Rapinoe slams Trump again

The USWNT star has again spoken out against the U.S. President, who went after her on Twitter last week

Posted Thursday, July 04, 2019 by Goal.com

U.S. women’s national team star Megan Rapinoe has once again hit out at Donald Trump, saying the U.S. President should have better things to do than go after her on Twitter.

Trump slammed Rapinoe on Twitter last week after a video from January emerged of Rapinoe saying “I’m not going to the f*cking White House” in response to a question on the USWNT’s plans should they win the World Cup.

Rapinoe addressed the controversy in her press conference before the USWNT’s quarterfinal with France last week but on Wednesday, Rapinoe was asked again about her feud with Trump.

“I expect him to have a lot better things to do before that got on the to-do list,” Rapinoe said of Trump’s tweets. “I’m sure he skipped over a number of things.”

Rapinoe missed out the USWNT’s 2-1 win over England in the semifinal on Tuesday night with a hamstring problem, but has said she expects to be ready to play either Sweden or the Netherlands in the final on Sunday.

The U.S. star has generated plenty of attention and controversy at this World Cup due to her feud with Trump, continuing a pattern of outspokenness she has displayed over the years.

“I like to be open and honest,” Rapinoe said. “It feels weird to be any other way or to hold that back.

“I think becoming older and a little bit more secure with myself I’m probably becoming more brazen, but I think that’s always been there.”

Rapinoe is no stranger to making news for actions outside the pitch. In 2016 she became one of the first white athletes to kneel for the U.S. national anthem, taking the action to protest racial injustice in solidarity with NFL player Colin Kaepernick.

Rapinoe offered a bit more insight into her worldview on Wednesday, making her case as to why she continues to speak out.

“I think that I am particularly and uniquely and very deeply American,” Rapinoe said. “If we want to talk about the ideals that we stand for and the songs and the anthem and sort of what we were founded on, I think I’m extremely American.

“I feel very fortunate to be in this country, I’d never be able to do this in a lot of other places but also, that doesn’t mean that we can’t get better, that doesn’t mean that we 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, 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.”