Simone Biles celebrated becoming the most decorated gymnast in history by posting “I love my black job,” in an apparent dig at Donald Trump‘s widely condemned remarks about “Black jobs.”
The post on X, formerly Twitter, came after Biles secured her place in history with spectacular performances at the 2024 Paris Olympics, taking her to a total of nine Olympic medals and 30 World Championship medals.
Biles’ remark was a reply on the repost of a remark by Ricky Davila, who wrote on the app: “Simone Biles being the GOAT winning medals and dominating gymnastics is her black job.”
Newsweek has reached out to a representative for Simone Biles via email for comment.
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During the June 27, 2024, presidential debate in Atlanta, Donald Trump made remarks about “Black jobs,” which quickly sparked widespread backlash and confusion.
The comments came during a discussion on immigration and its impact on employment. Trump claimed that President Joe Biden‘s immigration policies were causing Black and Hispanic Americans to lose jobs to immigrants, stating, “They’re taking Black jobs now … and Hispanic jobs. You haven’t seen it yet, but you’re going to see something that’s going to be the worst in our history”
After the debate, the term “Black jobs” trended on social media.
In response to the remarks, Derrick Johnson who is the President and the CEO of the NAACP posted on X, writing: “Last night’s debate missed the mark. Black Americans thrive in every industry, breaking boundaries and redefining excellence. We are not confined to any one.”
Trump has since doubled down on these claims, reiterating them at rallies and at a conference with the National Association of Black Journalists.
In Forbes, Shaun Harper who is a diversity, equity and inclusion expert wrote that for some viewers Donald Trump’s remarks raised the question, “What is a Black job?”. Harper continued, writing that “Many others knew exactly what the former president meant. He was referring to low-paid, low-security, and often physically demanding service roles.”
When asked about the discourse surrounding Trump’s claims about “Black jobs” and Simone Biles’ post, Karoline Leavitt, the Press Secretary for Trump’s campaign told Newsweek that “Illegal immigration disproportionally affects Black workers, including other minority workers.”
“We need to do everything to protect them from their jobs from being taken away,” said Leavitt, adding: “Black unemployment continues to be higher than when President Trump was in office. And real wages for Black Americans are lower under Biden-Harris. That is why President Trump has promised the largest deportation operation in American history since President Dwight D. Eisenhower.”
Since Biles won her gold medal yesterday and became the most decorated gymnast of all time, criticism has been leveled at public figures, many of whom are considered to be right wing, who heavily criticized Biles in 2021 when she was unable to compete in the Tokyo Olympics.
Comments made by Charlie Kirk, Piers Morgan and the Republican Vice Presidential candidate JD Vance have resurfaced on social media. Specifically on a post shared by the account mattxiv. At the time of writing, this post has 375 thousand likes and is captioned “all tongues that rise against my girl shall fall.”
The post includes an interview clip of Vance speaking about Biles in 2021. He stated that, “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.”
He continued that, “Being an athlete at that level is incredibly tough… a normal response in this moment would be to say: “It’s a shame that she’s going through this. It’s a shame that she quit.”
Newsweek has reached out to a representative for Vance via email for comment.
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