Washington (AFP)
President Donald Trump on Sunday congratulated "all" American footballers for winning a fourth World Cup, beating the Netherlands in the final (2-0) in Lyon, despite criticism of him captain Megan Rapinoe, scorer Sunday.
Democrats and Republicans found themselves, for a rare moment, united in a concert of praise for their "Team USA".
The players are invited on Wednesday to a parade in New York to celebrate their title, as was the case in 2015, announced the mayor of the city Bill de Blasio.
"Congratulations to the American women's football team for winning the World Cup," tweeted Donald Trump nearly two hours after the final whistle.
"Nice and exciting match, America is proud of you all!", He continued. "It's an incredible success," he added later in front of reporters.
His wife Melania and his chief diplomat, Mike Pompeo, had greatly ahead to congratulate the US selection, also on Twitter.
The Democratic House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, was among the first to rejoice while recalling, in the same tweet, the salary difference with the players of the men's team.
They "showed us their greatness - now show them the money," she added, supporting their call for more equal treatment between men and women in football.
- Boycott -
An "amazing team," tweeted former Democratic President Barack Obama, his wife Michelle saying on the same social network: "You are for us all a source of inspiration!"
In the USA Today, an editorialist hailed a feat that is not only "historic" or limited to what "American women have accomplished on the ground".
"The immense expectations that weighed on them, the incessant criticism ... they coped with it without seeming to care, they refused to give in on issues that were important to them, whether it was and the behavior of the American president, the not so subtle sexism towards female athletes or the raging indifference of Fifa towards women's competition, "writes Nancy Armor.
"For decades, the team and its stars have been leading the fight to develop women's football, and to ensure that more money - and more money - goes to their athletes," said the New York Times. .
Megan Rapinoe talked a lot about her during the World Cup, saying that she would not go to "the White House" because Donald Trump "does not fight for the same things as us".
On Saturday, the striker, who was finally named best player and scorer at the World Cup, reaffirmed that she intended to boycott the invitation to the White House in case of victory and stressed that "at least" defender Ali Krieger would do the same.
- "Win before speaking" -
Athletes who have achieved feats are traditionally invited to the White House but since the arrival of Donald Trump, some of them preferred to decline the invitation.
The US president responded during the competition that "Megan should WIN first before TALKING!"
"Megan should never disrespect our country, the White House and our flag," he wrote, saying "a big fan of the US team and women's football."
"I refuse to respect a man who deserves no respect," Ali Krieger reacted on CNN.
Joe Biden, the current Democratic side favorite to challenge Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election, has gone into the breach by entrusting the team with pride for what it does "on the field and off" .
The divisions that shake the United States, and his football team, around the president were illustrated Sunday during a direct from the popular channel of the Conservatives, Fox News: while a reporter was taking the antenna shortly after the victory, to convey the joy of American fans gathered in a bar in France, his voice was covered by shouts of insults targeting the billionaire Republican.
? 2019 AFP