U.S. women's soccer star Ali Krieger Thursday joined with Team USA co-captain Megan Rapinoe in saying she wouldn't visit the White House if invited by President Donald Trump, as she does not respect him and she wants to stand by her friend.
"No, absolutely not," Krieger told CNN "New Day" host Alisyn Camerota. "I refuse to respect a man who warrants no respect."
She added that she feels that if she stayed silent, she would have been siding with "the oppressor" and she didn't want Rapinoe to feel that she was standing alone with her refusal to go to the White House, and with Trump's tweeted slam at her.
Rapinoe came under fire after using profanity while saying she wouldn't go to the White House and most likely wouldn't be invited. She's also faced controversy for her actions during the playing of the National Anthem.
Trump responded by tweeting that he was inviting the team and that Rapinoe should "win first before she talks" and to "finish the job."
"I feel like we are able to focus," Krieger told CNN. "It doesn't take a lot of mind space to go ahead and tweet something out and then turn it off and be focused on the job and what we are doing here, which is to win."
Krieger responded to Trump's tweet with one of her own, saying she doesn't respect the administration or its actions toward the LGBTQ community and citizens.
Meanwhile, the team has gotten invitations from Congress, including from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-NY, for a tour, and Krieger said "absolutely" she'd do that, but "most importantly" the team must win its final game Sunday, and then "things will come into play after that."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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