Donald Trump thought he’d miss out on the chance to stride the globe’s biggest sporting stage, lamenting in 2018, when the US won the right to co-host this year’s World Cup finals, that “I won’t be here” owing to presidential term limits.
But the historic political comeback that made him only the second president to win two nonconsecutive terms bought him political extra time and a role in the massive soccer extravaganza.
Trump has always had a flair for inserting himself into the global zeitgeist. So he seized his chance.
He proudly displayed a gleaming replica World Cup that complemented the golden decor of his Oval Office; he welcomed soccer supremo Gianni Infantino into his global MAGA orbit; and after presenting Chelsea with the trophy in a FIFA club tournament in the US last year, he celebrated with the team like he’d scored the winning goal.
But the 2026 World Cup finals that open on Thursday may serve to highlight the discord of his politics more than his enthusiasm for the beautiful game. While Trump may be looking for a new chance to promote his global ubiquity, many overseas critics are likely to be alienated by contributions that epitomize the turbulence and discord of his second term.
The finals come at a moment when Trump’s political star is waning due to growing unpopularity at home and reverses overseas.
Infantino’s award of an inaugural FIFA Peace Prize to Trump — after his friend was passed over for the Nobel version — now looks awkward after the president launched military strikes against another World Cup qualifying nation, Iran.
Trump’s hardline immigration policies, which left some foreign fans feeling unwelcome in the United States, are overshadowing the countdown to opening games. A respected Somali referee was refused entry at a time when the administration is accusing Somalis in Minnesota of fraud. (The community denies the claims.) The Senegalese team reportedly endured harsh security checks when arriving for their pre-World Cup camp, though the federation said it anticipated the security procedure and deemed it normal. And Iran said Tuesday that its ticket allocation for its three group games in the US had been canceled.
