The United States women’s national soccer team was a heavy favorite to win the World Cup this summer. They were eliminated on Sunday, though, losing to Sweden in a penalty shootout in the round of 16. It was a stunning loss for the international powerhouse, which has won the previous two World Cups. Donald Trump and his fellow MAGA patriots couldn’t contain their glee.
“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,” the former president wrote after the loss. “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.”
Megan Rapinoe, a long-time star of the team playing in her final World Cup, missed a key penalty kick. Rapinoe has been openly critical of Trump and refused to go to the White House after the team won in 2019. She has also spoken out on behalf of LGBTQ+ rights, knelt during the National Anthem to protest racial discrimination, and fought for equal pay between the men’s and women’s national teams.
It’s all enough for Trump to accuse Rapinoe and her teammates of being “openly hostile to America” … as he is literally rooting for America to fail as it takes on the rest of the world.
Trump wasn’t alone, of course. Scores of prominent conservative patriots spent Sunday gloating over the loss. “Team USA’s downfall was delivered by anti-America, anti-woman activist Megan Rapinoe’s EMBARRASSING free kick,” wrote right-wing shitposter Benny Johnson, the first of several tweets in which he celebrated how Rapinoe’s “humiliation is COMPLETE,” while alleging that she “intentionally sabotaged Team USA.”
@catturd2, one of Trump’s favorite influencers, was also thrilled. “The anti-American USA woke women’s soccer team has been eliminated and Megan Rapinoe is the cause of it,” he wrote. “I can’t stop laughing.”
“I’m glad they lost,” added T.J. Moe of right-wing outlet The Blaze. “The attitude of the USWNT reflect such poor values it’s sickening. They need an overhaul. The America-hating, entitled, ungrateful group, led by Megan Rapinoe, needs to go. Quite fitting she’s the one who blew their best chance to win.”
The ire toward the USWNT is, again, the product of Rapinoe and others standing up for the rights of the marginalized in America, which conservatives plainly view as un-American.
Joe Biden also weighed in following the team’s loss on Sunday.
“.@USWNT, you’ve made your country proud,” the president wrote on Twitter. “Congratulations on an incredible run. This team is something special and I’m looking forward to seeing how you continue to inspire Americans with your grit and determination – on and off the field.”
This content was originally published here.