Donald Trump erupts on ‘woke’ US women’s soccer team

Former President Donald Trump lashes US women’s football team in a social rant after its shock World Cup defeat to Sweden.

Alex Morgan reacts to the defeat and Donald Trump. Photos: Getty Images

Former President Donald Trump has taken to his social media platform to slam the US women’s football team in a typically unhinged rant.

The fallout has been enormous since the top-ranked Americans suffered a shock penalty shootout defeat to Sweden on Sunday night in the round of 16.

It is the earliest the team had ever lost at the tournament, reaching at least the semi-finals in every edition of the World Cup, winning it four times.

Alex Morgan reacts to the defeat and Donald Trump. Photos: Getty Images

Coming into this year’s event as the two-time defending champions, they were overwhelming favourites to win it all again, despite selecting an ageing and largely untested line-up.

Trump, who is the leading Republican candidate for the 2024 presidential election, couldn’t resist the opportunity to slam a team he has had a number of run-ins with in the past.

Taking to Truth Social – an alternative and extreme social media platform set up by Trump after he was banned by multiple others – the 77-year-old unleashed.

Donald Trump on Truth Social

“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 (sic) once great Nation under Crooked Joe Biden,” he wrote.

“Many of our players were openly hostile to America - No other country behaved in such a manner, or even close.

“WOKE EQUALS FAILURE. Nice shot Megan, the USA is going to Hell!!! MAGA.”

The last line is a reference to the penalty miss by outspoken US star Megan Rapinoe as the Swede’s progressed 5-4.

Megan Rapinoe and Kristie Mewis react to the defeat to Sweden. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)

It’s not the first time Trump has taken an aggressive stance against the American team.

After the US ended with a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympic Games, Trump blamed the “leftist maniacs” on the team.

“If our soccer team, headed by a radical group of leftist maniacs, wasn’t woke, they would have won the gold medal instead of the bronze,” he said in a statement he released back in August 2021.

“Woke means you lose, everything that is woke goes bad, and our soccer team certainly has.”

Members of the US team have previously not stood for the country’s national anthem or, as has been the case during this World Cup, refused to sing.

Megan Rapinoe missed a crucial penalty for the US side. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

Trump went on to target Rapinoe after the Olympics result, a player named the world’s best in 2019 who has a history of political activism.

“The woman with the purple hair played terribly and spends too much time thinking about radical left politics and not doing her job!,” he said.

In the bronze medal match, which was against Australia’s Matildas, Rapinoe scored two of the four goals and was key to the team’s bronze medal victory.

The former Republican President and the American woman’s football team have not been on good terms since the group declined an invitation to the White House after winning the 2019 World Cup.

Imagine being the front runner for the nomination for president of the United States and then using your platform to mock the US National soccer team and Megan Rapinoe for losing a shootout in the world cup.

These women worked their butts off to get where they did. They trained… pic.twitter.com/cOAhjTiXBV

— Brian Krassenstein (@krassenstein) August 7, 2023

Megan Rapinoe and the rest of the team had more class grace and dignity in losing, than Trump ever even had in winning.

Class, grace and dignity can’t be taught.
You either have it, or you don’t.
They have it.
Trump doesn’t.

— BO1961 (@BO19612) August 7, 2023

There were plenty who still wanted to defend the American team, particularly against a character as divisive as Trump.

“Imagine being the front runner for the nomination for president of the United States and then using your platform to mock the US National soccer team and Megan Rapinoe for losing a shootout in the world cup,” wrote journalist and Twitter user Brian Krassenstein.

Krassenstein’s tweet has garnered almost 1,500 replies at the time of writing, some slamming Trump and others delighting in the demise of the women’s team.

“Megan Rapinoe and the rest of the team had more class grace and dignity in losing, than Trump ever even had in winning,” wrote a user calling themselves BO19612.

“Class, grace and dignity can’t be taught. You either have it, or you don’t. They have it. Trump doesn’t.”