Olympic gymnast Simone Biles, who recently won two gold medals in Paris becoming the most decorated U.S. gymnast, made a social media post Friday that appears to reference recent political comments.
Biles, 27, shared a post on X from singer Ricky Davila celebrating her victory. Davila wrote, “Simone Biles being the GOAT, winning Gold medals and dominating gymnastics is her black job.” Biles responded, “I love my black job,” adding a black heart emoji.
The post seems to allude to remarks made by former President Donald Trump during a June debate. Trump stated, “They’re taking Black jobs now and it could be 18, it could be 19 and even 20 million people. 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.” He was referring to the role of immigrants in the U.S. economy.
When asked to define a “black job” at the National Association of Black Journalists convention, Trump responded, “A black job is anybody that has a job, that’s what it is. Anybody that has a job.”
The controversy has also brought attention to past comments by Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, Trump’s vice-presidential running mate. In 2021, Vance criticized the praise Biles received after withdrawing from the Tokyo Olympics to focus on her mental health, stating it reflected poorly on society to praise people for their “weakest moments” rather than strength or heroism.
Biles’ recent Olympic success and social media comment have reignited discussions about these political statements, with many social media users defending Biles against Vance’s past criticism.
nbcnews.com
