Donald Trump's twin obsessions of wanting to be center stage all the time combined with his desire to be linked to popular sporting events may put him on a collision course with his most rabid MAGA supporters.
That is according to Politico which is reporting that the Trump administration is bending over backwards to accommodate the 2026 World Cup to be played in the U.S. at the same time that the same administration is waging war on immigrants and foreign visitors.
According to Politico's Sophia Cai, a quick phone call to the White House from Alex Lasry, CEO of the New York-New Jersey 2026 World Cup Host Committee, got the White House to call off plans to send “suited and booted” ICE agents to matches which had alarmed officials after it was posted on the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Facebook page. That Facebook post was later deleted.
The report notes that all the harsh rhetoric about foreigners coming to the U.S. fades into the background when it comes to the world's most popular sport holding its most popular event in Trump's U.S.
As Cai wrote, Trump's apparent desire to make himself a main character during the World Cup has led his administration to work more closely not only with foreign governments but the leaders in the cities and states hosting games, many of them Democrats.
"Trump has long gravitated personally to the testosterone and glitz of athletic competition," Cai wrote before adding, "Now in his second he has the opportunity to preside over the games themselves. But that requires his administration to coordinate logistically complex events that rely on the type of global cooperation and free movement of people that is anathema to Trump’s 'America First' agenda."
Adding, "Enthusiasm for the pageantry has led Trump to quickly embrace every aspect of what will be among the largest sporting events ever, even at the risk of alienating his most loyal supporters," Cai reported Trump "regularly dismisses the United Nations, NATO and World Health Organization, [but] he caters to the demands of FIFA."
Alan Rothenberg, who assisted in putting on the 1994 U.S. World Cup, suggested, "Trump, as we all know, likes attention. How could you have more attention than a couple billion people watching you kick out the ceremonial first ball and awarding the World Cup trophy to the ultimate champion?”
According to the report, in May, Vice President J.D. Vance was put on the spot about the administration, "attempting to balance its otherwise uncompromising attitude towards foreign visitors with a newfound desire to welcome soccer fans."
Vance replied,"We want them to come, we want them to celebrate, we want them to watch the game. But when the time is up, they’ll have to go home. Otherwise they’ll have to talk to Secretary [Kristi] Noem.”
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