This archive report was first published on 11 July 2019.
US soccer star Megan Rapinoe has sparked controversy after announcing she will not be visiting the White House following the team's World Cup victory in France.
As the co-captain of the US women's national football team, Rapinoe was instrumental in their success, scoring six goals and providing two assists throughout the tournament.
When asked about her decision not to visit the White House, Rapinoe told CNN's Anderson Cooper that she would not go, stating that her message to President Trump was to stop excluding people and do better for everyone.
'Your message is excluding people. You're excluding me, You're excluding people that look like me, you're excluding people of colour, you're excluding Americans that maybe support you,' Rapinoe said.
'You have an incredible responsibility as the chief of this country to take care of every single person and you need to do better for everyone.'
President Trump had previously responded to Rapinoe's comments, telling her to 'finish the job' before she could talk and cautioning her not to disrespect her country, the White House, or the US flag.
Interestingly, it was only four years ago that ex-US President Barack Obama welcomed the women's football team to the White House to honour them on winning the 2015 Women's World Cup.
During the visit, Obama was gifted a jersey with the number 44 on it, inspired by him being the 44th President.
