Trump crashes, hogs the stage as Spain celebrate championship
Updated ,first published
New York New Jersey Stadium: He couldn’t help himself. And we probably should have known.
Invited by FIFA president Gianni Infantino to present the World Cup trophy to 2026 champions Spain, Donald Trump was not going to simply leave the stage and leave the spotlight to the winners.
Like last year, the US president, who was awkwardly wandering around after presenting the trophy to Chelsea at the FIFA Club World Cup, took over the stage and dispersed the photos of jubilation that accompany the traditional trophy lifting ceremony.
Spain’s captain, Rodri, tried to make a subtle gesture to Trump that he should not overstay his welcome. But Infantino had to gently lead the president aside and away from the celebrations that followed.
The pictures carry the tinge of an instant meme: Trump, 80, lurking around like a bad breath as the World Cup champions go wild, and the FIFA boss gently tugs him by the arm.
But little harm was done to the crowd; They had already made their feelings known by wholeheartedly booing Trump and Infantino when they took the field for the ceremony.
We know Trump loves a winner — look how quickly he softened toward democratic socialist New York mayor Zohran Mamdani — but it’s surprising how determined he is to absorb this particular brilliance.
Spain is well and truly in Trump’s cabin. Just two weeks ago he was calling the country a “terrible partner” of the United States and NATO, reiterating his long-standing complaint about Madrid’s refusal to raise defense spending to 5 percent of gross domestic product.
The president told treasury boss Scott Bessent to cut off all trade with Spain and complained to NATO secretary-general Mark Rutte: “Spain is not accepting anything and you shouldn’t be carrying these things.”
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who, unlike Milei, attended the World Cup final, is a left-wing leader who heads the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party and is also the president of the Socialist International.
He recognized the Palestinian state, called Israel’s campaign in Gaza “genocide” and condemned Trump’s capture of then-Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro as a violation of international law.
In short, Sánchez is a complete anti-Trump. There is no doubt that the president was quietly supporting Argentina, whose right-wing president Javier Milei was an ideological friend and traveling companion.
“She’s MAGA through and through,” Trump said of meeting Milei at the White House last year, just days before Anthony Albanese’s visit.
Milei is also a regular at Washington; Last April, he joined Elon Musk on stage at a conservative conference, where he gifted the world’s richest man a chainsaw to use in reducing government largesse.
Before the game, Trump tried to remain neutral. “I hate to get involved in this, even though it’s not very politically important,” he told Fox.
“The president of Argentina is my friend, he did a great job… I won’t pick a side, I just think it’s hard to bet against Messi.”
But it wasn’t Messi’s night. The Argentinian was visibly distraught after failing to qualify at the last World Cup.
Inside the stadium, Argentina easily dominated the majority of the fans and they sang, jumped, chanted and chanted to the fullest of their dignity. But in the end, even their tempo started to slow down as Argentina missed even a single shot on target.
Instead, Trump had to shake hands with Spanish players, including Borja Iglesias, who joked before the game that he would shake Trump’s hand saying “I don’t want to go to jail.”
One by one, the team lined up to have their medals hung around their necks by Trump or Infantino, and at the end they all shook the president’s hand; in most cases briefly as he moved quickly among the dignitaries. Trump slapped some on the shoulders as they passed.
Maybe he made amends with Spain in the VVIP box during the match. Sánchez was one of many world leaders present, along with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and fellow World Cup host Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum.
Also in the suite: King Henry VI of Spain. There’s Felipe and Queen Letizia, White House FIFA Task Force executive director Andrew Giuliani (Rudy Giuliani’s son), First Lady Melania Trump and multiple US cabinet secretaries.
Those without the luxury of VIP transportation (or a Marine One helicopter) had to pay $98 for the train and bus to New York New Jersey Stadium, also known as MetLife Stadium, home of the New York Giants and New York Jets.
Most didn’t seem to care: As one local said, you’d be better off paying $225 for a parking spot at the nearby American Dream mall.
Complaints about transportation prices (and halftime shows) aside, the sun has now set on an apparently successful World Cup in the United States and its neighbors.
Trump said that when Infantino first presented him with the idea, he thought it was crazy because “we are not a football country.” “And it seems we are a football country,” he says now.
Arguably the worst moment of the tournament was Trump’s intervention on behalf of a US player who had received a red card; This was to no avail as the USA lost 4-1 to Belgium.
In addition to confirming the idea that FIFA is open to undue influence, it showed that even the World Cup is not immune from the president’s tendency to insert himself into every aspect of American life; especially if he himself believes there is victory to be won.
Michael Koziol is the North America correspondent for The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald. He is a former Sydney editor, Sun-Herald deputy editor and a federal political correspondent in Canberra.Connect with: X or email.
