Simone Biles revels in her achievements as an Olympic gymnast, having clinched two gold medals in Paris and becoming the most decorated U.S. gymnast. On Friday, she took a subtle jab at former President Donald Trump in a post on X.
The 27-year-old gymnast shared a post from singer Ricky Davila, who lauded Biles as she posed with her medals and a “GOAT” necklace, symbolizing her status as the Greatest of All Time.
” Biles being the GOAT, winning gold medals, and dominating gymnastics is her black job,” Davila wrote.
“I love my black job,” Biles responded, adding a black heart emoji.
Simone Biles
I love my black job 🖤 https://t.co/c5wPc6xOY3
— Simone Biles (@Simone_Biles) August 2, 2024
This post appears to address comments made by Trump during a June debate. He remarked, “They’re taking Black jobs now and it could be 18, it could be 19 and even 20 million people,” referring to the impact of immigrants on the U.S. job market. “They’re taking Black jobs, and they’re taking Hispanic jobs, and you haven’t seen it yet, but you’re going to see something that’s going to be the worst in our history.”
Trump’s comments sparked immediate backlash. During the National Association of Black Journalists convention on Wednesday, Trump was asked to clarify what he meant by a “black job.”
“A black job is anybody that has a job, that’s what it is. Anybody that has a job,” he replied.
Controversial remarks from Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, also resurfaced following Biles’ victory. In 2021, Vance, who is Trump’s vice-presidential running mate, questioned why Biles should be praised after withdrawing from the Tokyo Olympics to focus on her mental health. Biles had cited experiencing the “twisties,” a phenomenon where gymnasts lose their sense of spatial awareness.
“I think it reflects pretty poorly on our sort of therapeutic society that we try to praise people, not for moments of strength, not for moments of heroism, but for their weakest moments,” Vance said at the time.
Many social media users have come to Biles’ defence, with one noting, “What the heck has JD Vance ever done that is better than what Simone Biles has done and continues to do?”
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