Elizabeth Warren‘s list of endorsements just got a little bit longer and a lot more athletic: Megan Rapinoe has picked the progressive Massachusetts senator as her choice for president in 2020.
“I truly believe the best things in life are a result of being bold and being real,” Rapinoewrote on InstagramFriday. “This extends to every part of my life and nothing feels more relevant and real than this election. I’m proud to endorse @elizabethwarren today.”
Rapinoe’s endorsement on Instagram came alongside a video post showing her and Sen. Warren talking on the phone together.
Warren responded with a statement Friday morning, saying: “Megan is a champion of justice on and off the field and a role model for women and girls everywhere. I am honored to have her endorsement, and look forward to fighting alongside her for big, structural change.”
The Reign FC captain, 34, is not shy about her politics. At the same time that her soccer prowess has kept her in the international spotlight, withanother World Cup win this summerin France, she has spoken her mind about LGBTQ rights, equal pay for women, her distaste for PresidentDonald Trump‘s divisive style, her support ofColin Kaepernick‘s protest against police brutality and more.
“I’m from Trump country. But I’m able to travel the world and live in very liberal places now,” sherecently toldSports Illustrated, which named her their Sportsperson of the Year. “I am sort of in all the worlds at once.”
Courtesy NBC Olympics
Jeffrey A. Salter
Even at an event for the magazine to celebrate her honor, Rapinoe pointed out the lopsidedness of so few other women having been named before her.
“Am I only the fourth woman worthy of this honor in 60 years? … I don’t think so,” she said.
But she can be deprecating about the spotlight she now carries around to put on issues. “I don’t have plans for policies and how to implement them,” she toldSI. “I’ll just be the jabber.”
Warren has had a similarly meteoric 2019, in some ways: A two-term senator, lawyer and former teacher, she officially launched her campaign to challenge Trump in February.
Michael Regan/FIFA via Getty Images; Matt Baron/Shutterstock
Sen. Elizabeth Warren.Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Rapinoe isn’t the first celebrity to endorse a presidential candidate in the upcoming 2020 election, before the calendar even turns.
Actor Jon VoightendorsedPresident Trump’s re-election bid in early 2019, while Warren’s celebrity endorsements include Queer Eye starJonathan Van NessandScarlett Johansson.
Other Democratic hopefuls have gotten major celeb endorsements, too. Sen. Bernie Sanders got public support from pop starsCardi BandAriana Grandethis year, while Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin threw hissupportbehind former vice president Joe Biden.
Speaking with PEOPLE earlier this year, Warren reflected on the value of being one of multiple women in the 2020 race — and her bond with women and girls on the campaign trail.
“For us to change, that means we’ve all got to be in the fight,” she said. “And what’s the best way to draw more people into the fight? It’s to have fighters who look like them.”
source: people.com
