Donald Trump Skips FIFA World Cup Matches Despite U.S. Team Qualifying

President Donald Trump has stayed away from the FIFA World Cup in the United States so far, with the BBC noting he has not attended a single match despite the United States team winning two of their three group games and qualifying for the knockout stages.

“- Published United States President Donald Trump was expected by many to regularly feature at the World Cup”

BBC

The BBC also tied Trump’s absence to the opening match against Paraguay on 12 June in Los Angeles, when Secretary of State Mark Rubio traveled from Washington instead.

BBC

The BBC reported that Trump prioritized an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) event on the White House lawn two days later, celebrating his 80th and America’s 250th birthday.

Federico de Jesus, described by the BBC as a political strategist and communications expert who served as a media director for former president Barack Obama, said, "UFC is the sport Trump has cultivated, and with which he has a special relationship."

De Jesus added that Trump may be "wary" after being booed when he became the first US president to attend the NBA Finals in New York earlier this month.

The BBC said Infantino has confirmed the intention is for Trump to attend the final in New Jersey on 19 July and present the trophy, and it added that Trump has confirmed he has been asked to do so.

In the Observer’s account of Trump’s sporting reception, Madison Square Garden filled with boos as cameras panned to the President, and it quoted Trump saying, "They were very loud, very enthusiastic."

Covers

The Observer also described Trump as a "genuine Knicks fan" after Adam Silver said it, but it said he was not treated as one once inside the stadium.

The BBC framed the World Cup absence as not out of character, quoting Federico de Jesus: "It's not out of character".

The Observer said Trump’s penultimate sporting appointment before the World Cup was being present for the fight staged by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on the South Lawn of the White House on 14 June.

A Covers piece framed the question of whether Trump will attend the World Cup final in July as a prediction-market trade, saying the ‘Yes’ odds were supported by reports that FIFA had given Trump the go-ahead to lift the trophy alongside the winning team captain.

“Will Donald Trump attend the FIFA World Cup final in July”

Covers

That same Covers article said FIFA boss Gianni Infantino has said Trump will attend and help present the trophy, and it placed the ‘Yes’ at 89ȼ with an 87% implied probability.

The BBC reported that Trump was expected to regularly feature at the World Cup but stayed away through the halfway point, and it set up the question of whether he would appear before the final.

The Observer described Trump’s World Cup-related posture as conspicuous by his absence, while also reporting that Infantino reasserted earlier this week that the President would be presenting the trophy to the winner after the final in New York and/or New Jersey on 19 July.

The BBC added that Andrew Giuliani, described as the head of the White House World Cup Task Force, was mentioned in its discussion of whether Trump would appear before the final.