USWNT defender Ali Krieger issued a strong rebuke to President Donald Trump after he tweeted about teammate Megan Rapinoe on Wednesday.

"In regards to the 'President's' tweet today, I know women who you cannot control or grope anger you, but I stand by (Rapinoe) & will sit this one out as well," Krieger wrote.

"I don't support this administration nor their fight against LGBTQ+ citizens, immigrants & our most vulnerable."

On Wednesday morning, Trump sent several critical tweets about Rapinoe, who had previously said she wouldn't visit the White House if the U.S. won the World Cup. Trump wrote, in part: "Megan should never disrespect our Country, the White House, or our Flag, especially since so much has been done for her & the team. Be proud of the Flag that you wear."

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/soccer/2019/06/26/uswnt-ali-krieger-donald-trump-angered-women-he-cant-grope/1573168001/

Paris — Jessica McDonald quickly was put in her place by Jeremiah, her 7-year-old son.

“I tried to explain to him: ‘Buddy, we’re going to the World Cup,’” the American forward remembered. “And he’s just like: ‘OK, can I have a toy now?’”

A 31-year-old forward, McDonald made her World Cup debut at the start of the second half against Chile on June 16, a pinnacle on a circuitous, protracted path to soccer’s highest level. She sparked the offense and her curling shot hit a post in the 62nd minute.

A big part of the joy for McDonald is that Jeremiah is headed to the World Cup to watch the latter stages. The defending champion Americans play Spain on Monday with a chance to advance to the quarterfinals.

“He doesn’t fully understand, but at least he’s at an age right now where he’s actually going to remember this,” she said. “He’s going to look back and be like, ‘Wow, I was there. Wow, my mom actually is cool — like she said.’”

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She was at a doctor’s office last month having the yearly knee checkup when U.S. coach Jill Ellis called.

“My heart’s pounding at that point pretty hard, and so she’s like, ‘You want your answer?’ I’m like, yes,” McDonald recalled, thinking about Ellis’ magic words: “You’re going to the World Cup.”

“It was just an ugly cry from that point on — and she said a handful of more things. No idea what she said because I was too busy crying, and just like overwhelming joy,” McDonald said. “I’m 31 years old and I’ve been waiting 31 years just for that phone call, just for that answer.”

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/sports/soccer/2019/06/23/womens-world-cup-usas-jessica-mcdonald-juggles-game-son/1542871001/

It’s hard to keep count of all the polarizing ways that people describe Megan Rapinoe. The United States women’s soccer forward is a star, and she’s a pariah. She’s fun-loving, and she’s annoying. She’s exuberant, and she’s excessive. She’s a necessary voice, and she’s an irreverent troublemaker. She’s delightful, and she’s disgraceful. She’s essential to our World Cup hopes, and when she declines to sing the “Star-Spangled Banner” with her teammates, she’s inappropriate for our world-class ego.

She’s America, too, by the way. Oh, she’s America. And there is no counter to that.

Rapinoe is just a person unafraid to express the good, bad and unflinchingly ugly in our diverse and complicated country, and that allows her to be a mirror. The way you react to Rapinoe reflects an image of America. It can be depressing to see, but at least it is true. This is the point of her audacity, of her declaration that she is a “walking protest.” She forces you to care.

Love or hate her, celebrate with or root against her, dig or diss her colorful hairstyles. She’s still going to represent the U.S. and do so with athletic grace and grit. She’s still the woman who scored two goals on penalty kicks to lead Team USA past Spain and into the World Cup quarterfinals. You will pay attention to her, and if you’re not too busy listening to your own voice, perhaps you will learn something.

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Her stances don’t make her different from her teammates and a detriment to this great soccer program. They verify that she is a product of a revolutionary tradition.

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But she is an essential rebel: a defiant woman refusing to play by the antiquated be-cute-and-courteous rules that make many men feel better about female athletes. She is a societal disrupter, born of a program of societal disrupters, and thank heavens that this individual decided to join forces with this team.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/dcunited/megan-rapinoe-isnt-here-to-make-you-comfortable/2019/06/25/af08fda0-977c-11e9-8d0a-5edd7e2025b1_story.html?utm_term=.4700b68f7d0a&tid=sm_tw

“You’d better not say I was here,” said one White House reporter, who attended the awkward drinks at a nearby steakhouse.

WASHINGTON — There’s an old maxim about the press, sometimes attributed to H.L. Mencken: “Journalism is to politician as dog is to lamp post.” That’s why eyebrows were raised last night when the dogs hosted a party for a lamp post, with some of journalism’s loudest barkers gathering for Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the outgoing White House press secretary.

Maybe it was a case of Stockholm syndrome. Certainly, it was an odd sight: journalists turning out to raise a glass to the unflinching defender of a president who accuses the media of being “the enemy of the people” or worse.

But most of the journalists who gathered at Rare Steakhouse, a dim surf-and-turf joint two blocks from Pennsylvania Avenue, had no qualms. So what if Ms. Sanders told Robert Mueller’s investigators that she delivered false statements to reporters, and that she went 100 days without giving a press briefing?

For the demoralized herd of reporters who have spent the last two years being smacked around by Ms. Sanders, her last hurrah was just another happy-hour opportunity to source up.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/25/style/toasting-sarah-huckabee-sanders-by-the-press-really.html

DOJ files lawsuit against Omarosa for allegedly “knowingly and willfully failing to file the required public financial disclosure report after her employment terminated with the Executive Office of the President.”



https://twitter.com/Evan_Rosenfeld/status/1143621928206290945