We’re a few days out from the results of the presidential election, and already fear has turned into action, as is the case for Olympian Simone Biles.
The gymnast is one of many notable figures who have reacted to the news of Donald Trump’s shocking presidential victory, and while she could have understandably wallowed in that reality, she has instead already urged for change. Taking to X on Nov. 7, Biles shared a message for outgoing President Joe Biden, one that reminds us of the work we have to do particularly as we brace for a second Trump term.
Biles is an Olympic athlete after all, so she’s not just going to sit around when there’s vaults to be jumped and uneven bars to be mounted (can you tell I don’t know much about sports?). In that same spirit of action, Biles addressed her message to “Mr Biden,” before borrowing from the lingo of her sport to push the President for last-minute change before he exits the White House in January. “I need you to stand up, straighten your back and make some things shake before your departure,” Biles wrote.
The gymnast signed off her message on behalf of a demographic that was hardest hit by Trump’s victory. “Xoxo the women in america,” she wrote, giving voice to the legions of women who’ve expressed frustration, hurt, and confusion in the wake of Election Day. Thankfully, Biden has already outlined some of those final days changes he intends to make before ceding his office, and spoke of them in a speech from the White House rose garden on Nov. 7.
Top of the agenda for Biden is his move to restrict oil extraction at the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, in opposition to the president-elect’s plans to “drill, baby, drill” (yeah, the president said that). Biden said he will also continue his “surging” humanitarian and military aid for Ukraine, again combating Trump’s plans to reduce U.S. support of the country. On the women front, and though not issued by Biden, Democratic Californian Governor Gavin Newsom has responded to Biles’ calls.
It’s said that Newsom had launched plans to “Trump-proof” his state hours before the results of the election became clear, and this involved lawmakers’ particular focus on safeguarding reproductive rights, as well as immigrant protections and climate change progress. Biles’ request for the White House to enshrine its legacy in the 74 days until Trump’s arrival has been echoed by legions of voters.
Alongside protections of women’s rights, many have called on the president to abolish the federal death penalty, review the legal status of marijuana, and speed up citizenship applications to get ahead of Trump’s severe immigration policies. It’s a busy agenda, but if anyone can convince Biden to do it, it’s a highly-decorated Olympian whose moves defy the laws of physics. The last-minute changes Biles speaks of are not without precedent.
If you recall, some of Barack Obama’s final presidential acts before reluctantly welcoming the Oompa Loompa included commuting the sentences of hundreds of people convicted of drug crimes, instituting plans to reduce the role of nuclear weapons, and in his final year, welcomed the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling that same-sex marriage is a legal right. That’s one heck of a to-do list, but when there’s an unpredictable president-elect on the horizon, we have to jump through hoops, which Biles understands more than anyone.