Megan Rapinoe swipes at Trump, blames him for US men’s team losing World Cup

Megan Rapinoe blamed President Donald Trump for the U.S. men’s soccer team’s loss at the World Cup on Tuesday, saying the president’s interference killed the team’s poor tone in the tournament.

“The Daily Show” host Desi Lydic asked Rapinoe about the red card given to U.S. player Folarin Balogun in the round of 32, which was eventually postponed. Trump admitted that he called FIFA President Gianni Infantino to review the red card.

“How do you think this affected the men’s team?” Lydic asked Rapinoe.

“It’s definitely not good, maybe it didn’t give them support because they thought it would or Trump hoped it would,” he responded. “I don’t know. It looked like he threw them out of the game.”

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“But it didn’t go so well. They had such a good vibe,” he added. “It seems to me that there was kind of an underdog vibe. Then you know who, who was involved, and everyone was like, ‘No.’ No. We don’t like this. Then Belgium said, ‘No, we definitely can’t lose to this team anymore’.”

Rapinoe, who won two World Cup championships with the women’s national football team, said she did not know the rules and was not a referee.

“No other president in history could have achieved the historic success that President Trump has delivered for the American people and the world. Thanks to his bold vision and determined leadership, the 2026 FIFA World Cup has generated billions of dollars in revenue, created a major economic boost in host cities and delivered a safe, secure and seamless experience for millions of fans and athletes around the world. It will undoubtedly be remembered as one of the greatest and most successful sporting events in history,” White House spokesman Davis Ingle said in a statement to Fox News Digital. declaration.

Rapinoe said during her podcast: “One More Touch: Beautiful Game,“Trump’s intervention was a distraction.

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President Donald Trump and FIFA president (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) Gianni Infantino speak in the White House Oval Office after signing an executive order for a task force on the FIFA World Cup on March 7, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Jim Watson/AFP)

“I think the distraction has kind of rubbed off on the team. Whether it’s a red card situation, whether it’s a public conversation with the president, all of these, you know, shenanigans and chaos that come with the emotions on both sides. Whether you accept it or not, it’s like a lot to deal with,” Rapinoe said.

“So in this team there is not only a core of older players who are used to it, but also none of these players talk about anything, for the most part,” he continued.

“I think in men’s football, as is generally the case, there are not many players choosing to use their platforms or expand their scope of pressure and responsibility,” he said.

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Former US women’s national team player Megan Rapinoe commented on the US men’s team’s loss to Belgium in the World Cup. (Soobum Im/USSF/Getty Images)

The US men’s national team lost to Belgium in the round of 16 match following a red card controversy.

Balogun told CBS after the defeat that there was too much outside noise leading to this.

“My initial reaction was that I was happy to come back to the team, but when I started thinking about it, I knew it was going to cause a lot of controversy and I could almost see my teammates being a little bit nervous because it’s such a unique thing,” Balogun told CBS in mid-July.

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“As we got closer to the game I tried to focus as much as I could but it was difficult. There’s a lot of outside noise and it’s hard to avoid it,” he added.