Jack Crosbie
View all posts by Jack Crosbie July 19, 2026
U.S. President Donald Trump at the FIFA World Cup 2026 Final match between Spain and Argentina FIFA via Getty Images Spain may be the 2026 World Cup official winner, but the game actually had two losers, thanks to Donald Trump. During a brief appearance on the jumbotrons around New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium, the crowd of Argentina and Spain fans booed the U.S. president, who is set to present the World Cup trophy itself to the winning team. The moment happened just after Jennifer Hudson performed the national anthem.
He was shown sitting in a box next to Melania Trump a few more times throughout the game.
This isn’t the first time Trump has been booed at a sporting event, and it certainly won’t be the last. Aside from UFC fights and stops on the PGA tour, most major sporting events have been hostile territory for Trump.
Trump’s personal participation in the World Cup has also been disastrous for the country’s national team. After a controversial red card decision temporarily suspended the USMNT’s star striker, Folarin Balogun, from a crucial round of 16 game against Belgium, Trump personally intervened, calling FIFA President Gianni Infantino personally. Balogun’s red card was suddenly overturned.
But rather than giving the U.S. a striking chance of beating Belgium, the controversial decision sparked a stressed-out vibe shift among the U.S. team, who put in perhaps their worst performance of the tournament and ended up being battered out of the round of 16, 4-1.
Fans immediately compared Trump’s intervention to his controversial appearance at Game 4 of the NBA Finals, where the New York Knicks lost the only game of their eventual 4-1 defeat of the San Antonio Spurs. (Trump was also booed there, to be fair.)
