Olympic gymnastics champion Simone Biles and Team USA basketball star LeBron James have seemingly responded to former President Donald Trump’s recent comments about “Black jobs” with eyebrow-raising posts on social media.
Biles, fresh from another win at the Paris Olympics, where she secured her ninth gold medal by outscoring Brazil's Rebeca Andrade in the all-around finals on Thursday, posted a tweet on X, formerly Twitter, after the win.
“I love my black job,” Biles wrote, per Meg Kinnard of The Associated Press, responding to singer Ricky Davila’s post that praised her accomplishments. Davila had shared an image of Biles with the caption: “Iconic photo of the GOAT mastering her black job and collecting Gold Medals.”
The tweet comes in the wake of Trump's controversial statements during a June debate with President Joe Biden, where he claimed that migrants are taking “Black jobs” and “Hispanic jobs” from Americans. Trump’s remarks were criticized as racist. At a recent National Association of Black Journalists conference, Trump further inflamed tensions by vaguely defining a “Black job” as “anybody that has a job,” a comment that was met with audible groans from attendees.
LeBron James also weighed in, quoting Biles' post and adding the words “Black 🐐🖤,” with emojis representing a goat (a common acronym for “Greatest of All Time”).
Simone Biles seals her title as the GOAT
Biles' triumph in Paris marks her as the oldest Olympic women's gymnastics champion since 1952 at the age of 27.
These Games have been dominated by Biles, who has been the central figure in gymnastics competitions. Despite a few balance checks, Biles achieved the highest balance beam score of the night on Thursday with a 14.566. She ultimately secured the gold with an outstanding score of 15.066, the highest of the day, demonstrating her status as the greatest of all time. On top of the gold, Biles' Team USA women's gymnastics teammate Sunni Lee clinched the bronze medal in the all-around finals.
Trump’s campaign did not immediately respond to requests for comments regarding Biles' post from The Associated Press. Biles' representatives also remained silent on her specific motivations for the post or her general views on the 2024 U.S. presidential election.
Adding another layer to the story, Ohio Senator JD Vance, Trump’s running mate, has previously been critical of Biles. In 2021, following her withdrawal from the Tokyo Olympics to focus on her mental health, Vance appeared on Fox News to question Biles' decision, suggesting it reflected poorly on societal values that praised moments of vulnerability over strength and heroism.
Follow Us
Subscribe