Politics
Trump leaves ‘America First’ behind in preparations for World Cup
In early June, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency announced on its Facebook page that its “suited and booted” agents would be at matches to the FIFA Club World Cup. Alex Lasry, CEO of the New York-New Jersey 2026 World Cup Host Committee, was startled to see the ominous message, which he worried could have a ruinous impact on tournament attendance.
Trump’s immigration policy was already on full display that week: thousands of Marines and National Guard troops were arriving in Los Angeles to support Trump’s deportation agenda. After city and state officials called the deployment a threat to their sovereignty, Trump and his top advisers blasted them as “incompetent” and unleashed schoolyard taunts on social media.
But when Lasry contacted the White House to express concern about the CBP post, he met a very different response. Andrew Giuliani, who leads a task force on World Cup preparations, reassured Lasry that the Department of Homeland Security would have just a routine presence at this month’s soccer tournament. Giuliani encouraged Lasry to assuage apprehensive fans and send press back to the White House with any questions. The provocative CBP post was later deleted.
Preparations for the world’s largest sporting tournaments reveal a vision of an alternate Trump administration. The White House welcomes foreign visitors and maintains harmonious relations with neighboring countries. It works closely with international organizations and serves as a supportive, even solicitous, partner to leaders in Democratic-run states and cities. It is an exception to “America First” large enough to kick a ball through.
“The largest World Cup in history will be both secure and welcoming,” Giuliani told Politico. “As hosts, we’re proud to open our doors to fans from around the world and one of the goals of the task force is to ensure that international fans can be a part of this historic sporting event.”
The one-time owner of an American football franchise, Trump has long gravitated personally to the testosterone and glitz of athletic competition. During his first term, he worked to bring the World Cup and Olympics back to the United States for the first time in decades. 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.
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. When the White House issued a ban last month clamping down on travelers from 19 countries, Trump included a specific carveout for international athletes, coaches and support staff attending the World Cup, Olympics and other high-profile sporting competitions.
While Trump regularly dismisses the United Nations, NATO and World Health Organization, he caters to the demands of FIFA, soccer’s Zurich-based governing body. Its president, Gianni Infantino, has been repeatedly welcomed with celebratory photo ops to the Oval Office where the leaders of Ukraine and South Africa found themselves berated and belittled.
Domestically, Giuliani has also personally visited or coordinated with all 11 host cities — the majority in places led by Democrats — to prepare security briefings even as Trump publicly rails against their municipal leadership for everything from homelessness policy to handling of protests. While Trump has threatened to cut off federal funding for some of those cities, his reconciliation budget would send money to many of them to cover World Cup security expenses.
“President Trump has repeatedly said that he wants his legacy to be that of a peacemaker,” said Trump campaign strategist Alex Bruesewitz. “Sports for hundreds and hundreds of years, has been something that has brought nations together. And the president respects that.”
The promises that sold the World Cup
The Justice Department spent May 2018 preparing for oral arguments in a landmark case before the U.S. Supreme Court over his executive order banning visitors from seven majority-Muslim countries. The ban, one of Trump’s first acts as president, represented the culmination of a campaign pledge central to the America First platform that brought him to office. It provoked mass chaos at airports as immigration lawyers and protesters rushed to help immigrants on incoming flights, along with a slew of legal challenges.
Source: politico.com
