Rapinoe knocks ‘fake’ Trump criticism after World Cup exit

Retiring U.S. soccer star Megan Rapinoe is knocking former President Trump’s criticism of her after the U.S. Women’s National Team lost in the round of 16 of the Women’s World Cup this month, calling his attacks “fake” in an interview published Tuesday in The Atlantic. 

“It always is [hard to parse],” Rapinoe said of Trump’s criticism, “because what he’s saying is fake. It’s a compilation of hit words and hot-button words that don’t actually make any sort of sense or square with reality at all.”

Rapinoe fought back against the criticism her team has faced both in moments of success and in ones of failure, saying, “there’s no way for us to win.”

“I think, just in general, the way that our team was spoken about over the course of the tournament, it was fake. And it didn’t make sense to me: In 2019, we were ultra-confident, ultra-swaggy — and won everything. And even though we won, we did it in bad taste, according to our critics,” Rapinoe said.

“This time, we weren’t confident enough, and we don’t have the right ‘mentality.’ And so we lost. It’s just so disingenuous. There’s no way for us to win, and there’s no way for us to lose,” she added.

Rapinoe was responding to Trump’s immediate response on social media to the news that the her team had lost to Sweden earlier this month. 

“The ‘shocking and totally unexpected’ loss by the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team to Sweden is fully emblematic of what is happening to the our once great Nation under Crooked Joe Biden,” Trump wrote at the time on his social media platform, Truth Social.

Rapinoe, a progressive activist, said during the 2019 Women’s World Cup that if the team won, which it eventually did, “I’m not going to the f‑‑‑ing White House,” adding, “We’re not going to be invited… I doubt it.”

Trump, who was in office at the time, responded to her comments by going after Rapinoe in a post on Twitter, writing, “Megan should never disrespect our country, the White House or our flag, especially since so much has been done for her and the team. Be proud of the flag you carry.”

“I’m a big fan of the U.S. team and women’s soccer, but Megan should first win before she speaks! Finish the job!” he added. 

President Biden awarded Rapinoe in 2022 with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the nation.