Olympic gymnastics champion Simone Biles entered the fray of the US presidential race on Friday with a post that appears to applaud the former president Donald Trump’s comment on “black jobs.”
“I love my black job,” Biles posted on X, in response to a post from singer Ricky Davila, who said, “Iconic photo of the GOAT dominating his black job and collecting gold medals.”
The exchange occurred hours after Biles postponed Rebeca Andrade, from Brazil to win the overall Paris Olympic gymnastics finalstaking her home ninth gold medal. At 27 years old, she is the oldest female Olympic gymnastics champion since 1952.
Trump, the 2024 Republican presidential nominee, was criticized for arguing during his June debate with Democratic President Joe Biden that migrants are accepting “black jobs” and “Hispanic jobs” for Americans. Trump’s remark angered critics, who called it a racist and insulting attempt to expand his appeal beyond his white conservative base.
When pressed by moderators about what constituted a “black job,” Trump told attendees at this week’s event National Association of Black Journalists Conference that “a black job is anyone who has a job”, drawing groans from the room.
Trump’s running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, has criticized Biles before. During an appearance on Fox News Channel in 2021, following Biles withdrawal from that year’s Olympic competition to protect their own safety in Tokyo – a self-removal that sparked an international discussion about mental health — Vance questioned why the athlete didn’t move forward.
“I think it reflects very poorly on our kind of therapeutic society that we try to praise people not for their moments of strength, not for their moments of heroism, but for their weaker moments,” said Vance, who then ran for a Senate seat. . said at the time.
The Trump campaign did not immediately return a message seeking comment on what Biles posted. Biles’ representatives also did not immediately return messages seeking further comment on her post or her general thoughts on the 2024 US presidential election. ___
Meg Kinnard reported from Chapin, SC, and can be reached at http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP.
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Follow AP’s coverage of the 2024 elections at https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024.
