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Megan Rapinoe (right) boycotts the national anthem ahead of the USA's game with Thailand.

Donald Trump criticises American captain's anthem protest at World Cup

Megan Rapinoe has not been singing the Star Spangled Banner at the tournament in France.

UNITED STATES PRESIDENT Donald Trump has criticised Megan Rapinoe for protesting during the national anthem at the Womenโ€™s World Cup.

Rapinoe took a knee in 2016 to show solidarity with NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who began kneeling during โ€˜The Star-Spangled Bannerโ€™ to highlight social inequality and injustice in the USA.

The 33-year-old attacker, who has described herself as โ€œa walking protestโ€, has taken to abstaining from singing during pre-game ceremonies in France.

Asked if he thought USA co-captain Rapinoeโ€™s actions were appropriate, Trump told The Hill: โ€œNo. I donโ€™t think so.โ€

In March, 28 members of the USA womenโ€™s team filed a gender discrimination lawsuit against US Soccer, citing gaps in pay and resources.

Trump suggested he did not have enough knowledge of the finer details of the issue to take a position.

โ€œI think a lot of it also has to do with the economics,โ€ Trump said. โ€œI mean who draws more, where is the money coming in.

โ€œI know that when you have the great stars like [Portugal's Cristiano] Ronaldo and some of these stars โ€ฆ that get paid a lot of money, but they draw hundreds of thousands of people.

โ€œBut I havenโ€™t taken a position on that at all. Iโ€™d have to look at it.โ€

The USA will face hosts France in the quarter-finals of the World Cup after Rapinoe scored two penalties in a 2-1 last-16 win over Spain on Monday.

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    Mute Beer Belly 0476
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    Jun 25th 2019, 3:34 PM

    Donโ€™t know whatโ€™s hard to understand about Supply/Demamd

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    Mute Richard O'Brien
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    Jun 25th 2019, 4:25 PM

    @Beer Belly 0476: Geffen?

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    Mute The Second Last Word
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    Jun 25th 2019, 6:47 PM

    @Beer Belly 0476: what has this got to do with supply and demand?

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    Mute PScald
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    Jun 25th 2019, 8:19 PM

    @The Second Last Word: you can demand more money when you supply a paying public and sponsorships

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    Mute Fr Romeo sensini.
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    Jun 25th 2019, 4:24 PM

    Two attention seekers.

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    Mute EM
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    Jun 25th 2019, 6:51 PM

    @Fr Romeo sensini.: Not a whole degree of usefulness in a protest that doesnโ€™t garner any attention. But sure swing away father, youโ€™ll strike a chord with a few on here.

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    Mute Richard O'Brien
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    Jun 25th 2019, 6:51 PM

    @Fr Romeo sensini.: but enough about her bra

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    Mute Fr Romeo sensini.
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    Jun 25th 2019, 7:22 PM

    @EM: you obviously havenโ€™t a clue how big womenโ€™s soccer is in America.do some homework before you make silly and uneducated comments, good lad/lass.

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    Mute Adrian O'Farrell
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    Jun 25th 2019, 6:43 PM

    โ€œTrump suggested he did not have enough knowledge of the finer details of the issue to take a positionโ€
    Well, thereโ€™s a first time for everything, I suppose.

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    Mute Stephen Keane
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    Jun 25th 2019, 5:06 PM

    Good for her.

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    Mute Richard O'Brien
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    Jun 25th 2019, 4:07 PM

    Don the con loves an opportunity to side with the barstool philosophers

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    Mute Carnac
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    Jun 25th 2019, 9:06 PM

    Rapinhoeโ€ฆ See u Next Tuesday.

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    Mute Damien Byrne
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    Jun 26th 2019, 3:07 AM

    Abstaining from singing the anthem is a form of protest now? Half the Irish football team must be protesting

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