What was supposed to be a routine White House visit for Italian soccer club Juventus turned into an uncomfortable political spectacle Wednesday, with Donald Trump trapping professional athletes in the Oval Office while he ranted about Iran missile strikes and transgender women in sports.
U.S. Men's National Team player Tim Weah didn't mince words about the bizarre experience: "I was caught by surprise, honestly. It was a bit weird. When he started talking about the politics with Iran and everything, it's kind of like, I just want to play football, man!"
The 25-year-old soccer star revealed that players weren't even given a choice about attending. "They told us that we have to go and I had no choice but to go," Weah told The Athletic after his team's FIFA Club World Cup game.
Instead of celebrating the storied Italian club's visit to Washington, Trump used the captive audience of soccer players as props for his political grievances. When political reporters asked about Biden's administration, Trump seamlessly pivoted to his obsession with transgender athletes.
"Could a woman make your team, fellas? Tell me, what do you think?" Trump demanded of the visibly uncomfortable players. When a couple seemed to shrug and say yes, Trump dismissed them: "You're being nice."
The players could only shuffle their feet and cross their arms as Trump badgered them about gender politics. When Juventus general manager Damien Comolli tried to deflect by mentioning their women's team, Trump cut him off: "But they should be playing with women."
The soccer visit devolved further as Trump launched into tangents about Iran, Ukraine, and bizarrely, the Civil War—while confusing it with the Revolutionary War. Staring at the Declaration of Independence, Trump mused: "I wonder if the Civil War—it always seemed to me that could have been solved without losing 600,000-plus people."
Weah's post-game comments captured the absurdity: "I guess it was a cool experience being in the White House. But I'm not one for the politics, so it wasn't that exciting."