During the presentation ceremony for the World Cup final on Sunday, Donald Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino were met with boos as they stepped onto the field.
Trump arrived at the stadium via Marine One, with the presidential helicopter circling over the venue approximately 45 minutes before the match began. The crowd’s response to the flyover was minimal, and the helicopter landed nearby shortly after. Seated in a glass-enclosed luxury section alongside Infantino, Trump was in the company of other notable figures, including Spain’s King Felipe VI, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum.
After the U.S. national anthem was performed, Trump appeared on the stadium’s video screens, receiving a mix of scattered boos from the audience. This reaction was notably less hostile compared to previous sporting events he attended during his presidency. However, the atmosphere shifted dramatically when Trump and Infantino took the stage for the trophy presentation following Spain’s victory, eliciting a chorus of boos from the crowd.
This event marked Trump’s first attendance at a match during this summer’s World Cup, which the U.S. co-hosted with Canada and Mexico.
At the 2022 World Cup final, the trophy was awarded to Lionel Messi and his Argentina teammates by Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, the emir of Qatar, alongside Infantino. In contrast, Vladimir Putin presented the trophy to Kylian Mbappé and the French team after their victory in the 2018 World Cup held in Russia.
Trump made history as the first sitting U.S. president to attend a World Cup final on American soil. His predecessor, Bill Clinton, did not attend the finals during the U.S. hosting of the tournament in 1994; instead, the trophy was presented by Al Gore, Clinton’s vice president.
Last summer, Trump was prominently featured during the final of the Club World Cup at the same East Rutherford, New Jersey stadium, where he also faced loud boos while presenting the trophy to Chelsea, the champions.
Moreover, Trump shares a close relationship with Infantino and previously contacted him to advocate for a review of the controversial red-card suspension given to U.S. star Folarin Balogun ahead of their last-16 match. FIFA later overturned Balogun’s ban, but the political drama surrounding the team cast a shadow over their World Cup journey, which ended with a defeat to Belgium.
