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WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is not planning to attend the U.S. men's national team's World Cup opener in Los Angeles on June 12 against Paraguay.But a White House official said Trump expects to go to the July 19 World Cup championship final at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, outside of New York City.For the past year, Trump has counted down to 11 U.S. cities playing host to the 2026 World Cup, the world's most widely viewed sporting event. He's welcomed FIFA President Gianni Infantino to the White House on numerous occasions and boasted about being president while the U.S. hosts the World Cup and celebrates its 250th anniversary. Infantino even awarded Trump with the inaugural "FIFA Peace Prize."Considering Trump also enjoys attending major sporting events ‒ he attended Game 3 of the NBA Finals just this week ‒ his presence at the first U.S. match in the World Cup might seem like a given.Yet the final event on Trump's daily schedule for Friday, June 12, is a 5:30 p.m. ET interview, with no plans to make the long flight across the country to Los Angeles. The match at Sofi Stadium begins at 9 p.m. ET.It's customary for heads of states of World Cup host countries to attend the final matches. The emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, attended the last World Cup held in Qatar in 2022.Although the White House did not provide a reason for Trump's absence at the U.S. opener, the match comes as he's working to finalize a memorandum of understanding with Iran this weekend that would end the U.S. war in Iran.Trump has engaged in several contentious battles with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, both Democrats, including over the deployment of National Guard troops to Los Angeles in 2025 following protests over his immigration policies.Trump also has a different sporting event he must be in Washington for on Sunday, June 14. That's when the White House is hosting an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on the South Lawn, with 4,300 spectators expecting to attend the unprecedented spectacle.The UFC event falls on Trump's 80th birthday and Flag Day.Reach Joey Garrison on x @joeygarrison.
