Rapinoe reaffirms she won’t visit White House: ‘I stand by the comments that I made’

U.S. soccer star Megan Rapinoe reaffirmed her stance on not wanting to visit President Trump’s White House, saying Thursday that she “stand[s] by the comments that I made.”

“I stand by the comments that I made about not wanting to go to the White House, with the exception of the expletive — my mom will be very upset about that,” the women’s national team co-captain told reporters in Paris. 

Megan Rapinoe: “I stand by the comments I made about not wanting to go to the White House, with the exception of the expletive. My mom will be very upset about that.”
Via Daily Mail pic.twitter.com/RB6cvO5W0C

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) June 27, 2019

“But I think obviously, entering with a lot of passion considering how much time and effort and pride we take in the platform that we have and using it for good and for leaving the game in a better place, and hopefully the world in a better place, I don’t think that I would want to go,” she added.{mosads}

Rapinoe said earlier this week in a video by soccer publication Eight by Eight that she’s “not going to the f—— White House” if the U.S. women’s national team wins the World Cup.

Trump hit back at Rapinoe, tweeting that “leagues and teams love coming to the White House” and that he is a “big fan of the American Team, and Women’s Soccer,” but warned that “Megan should WIN first before she TALKS! Finish the job!”

“We haven’t yet invited Megan or the team, but I am now inviting the TEAM, win or lose,” Trump tweeted.

Teammate Ali Krieger later defended Rapinoe, tweeting: “In regards to the ‘President’s’ tweet today, I know women who you cannot control or grope anger you, but I stand by @mPinoe & will sit this one out as well.”

Director Ava Duvernay also weighed in on the feud, inviting “bad-ass” Rapinoe to “dinner at my house anytime.”

On Thursday, Rapinoe said she would encourage her teammates to “think hard about lending that platform or having that co-opted by an administration that doesn’t feel the same way and doesn’t fight for the same things that we fight for.”

“I’ll just leave it at that, and I’m not interested in answering any of those questions,” she said. “We can get to the real reason we’re here, which is a huge game.”

The U.S. team will face off against France on Friday.