Megan Rapinoe would beat Trump in an election, poll shows. Here's why that’s good news for every Democratic candidate.


U.S. women's soccer star Megan Rapinoe was clear that she doesn't have time to run for president, despite her fans' wishes.
That said, Public Policy Polling caved to popular demand and conducted a survey pitting the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup Golden Boot winner against President Trump. Rapinoe scored another victory, coming out on top 42 percent to 41 percent.
While this just might mean that people think highly of Rapinoe after her stellar on-field performance and social activism when she's not laced up, Public Policy Polling points out that it actually is indicative of a larger trend when it comes to "electability."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Under this thinking, whether it's a soon-to-be 35-year-old soccer star with no public office experience, a 77-year-old independent who's been in Congress since 1991, or Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), there likely won't be much of a swing in a run-off against Trump.
Public Policy Polling surveyed 604 registered voters between July 3-8. No margin of error was reported.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
Jaguar Land Rover’s cyber bailout
Talking Point Should the government do more to protect business from the ‘cyber shockwave’?
-
Russia: already at war with Europe?
Talking Point As Kremlin begins ‘cranking up attacks’ on Ukraine’s European allies, questions about future action remain unanswered
-
Sudoku hard: October 5, 2025
The Week's daily hard sudoku puzzle
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denial
Speed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels
speed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feud
Speed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protesters
Speed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’
Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US
-
US government shuts down amid health care standoff
Speed Read Democrats said they won’t vote for a deal that doesn’t renew Affordable Care Act health care subsidies
-
YouTube to pay Trump $22M over Jan. 6 expulsion
Speed Read The president accused the company of censorship following the suspension of accounts post-Capitol riot
-
Oregon sues to stop Trump military deployment
Speed Read The president wants to send the National Guard into Portland