by Simone Golia
«I Love my black job»: after winning her sixth gold medal of her career at the Games, Simone Biles used her social media channels to speak out against the recent (and controversial) statements of the presidential candidate. Also joining her was the basketball star.
After becoming the first American gymnast to triumph twice at the Olympics in the all-around individual event (and doing so at 27, the oldest ever since 1952), Simone Biles took to her widely followed social media platforms to take a jab at Donald Trump, sharing a sarcastic tweet where a user referred to her as “the greatest of all time, winning gold medals and dominating gymnastics, that’s her job as a black woman”, accompanied by a couple of photos depicting Biles smiling with her latest gold medal around her neck, alongside her trademark goat-shaped pendant. The post quickly garnered millions of views and caught the attention of the US star because the topic of “jobs for black people” has been heavily discussed in these weeks of the election campaign.
LeBron James applauds her on social media
Indeed, LeBron James, a great fan like all the players of the dream team, has also applauded her on social media, with the NBA legend referring to her multiple times as Goat, an acronym for Greatest of All Time. The Lakers star is one of Trump’s biggest rivals, who insulted him on live television back in 2018: “He was just interviewed by the dumbest man on television, Dom Lemon — the words of the then-president — He made LeBron look smart, which isn’t easy. I’m rooting for Mike!” in reference to Michael Jordan.
DEEPEN WITH THE PODCAST
“Immigrants are taking black jobs”
Trump is trying to garner as much support as possible from African Americans, whose votes are considered crucial ahead of the elections on November 5th. Hence the ill-judged phrase made during the debate on June 28 with Joe Biden, stating that “millions and millions of people” crossing the border between the United States and Mexico “are taking black people’s jobs.” This concept was reiterated earlier this week at the National Association of Black Journalists, when Rachel Scott from ABC asked him to clarify the term. The former president’s words sparked strong controversy: “There’s no such thing as a job for black people or a job for white people,” emphasized Derrick Johnson, CEO of the NAACP, an influential civil rights organization in the United States. This sentiment was echoed by Biles and LeBron, to whom Trump has so far not wanted to respond.