According to Alexi Lalas, the former United States defender, Donald Trump is the “soccer president”.“I cannot think of another administration where there has been more soccer emanating from the White House and the Oval Office,” Lalas said on The Ryen Russillo Show before the World Cup kicked off on June 11.When President Trump established a White House Task Force to manage the logistics of the tournament’s security in January 2025, he made clear he was planning to attend several games. “I would like to go to, certainly, more than one,” he said. “We’ll be making the rounds; it’s a period of a month and it’s really top-of-the-line. It’s one of the great events of anywhere in the world.”Eleven days into the world’s most popular sporting event, however, and the U.S. president is yet to make his 2026 men’s World Cup bow. To some, this may be a surprise, particularly as Trump has had replicas of both the FIFA World Cup and FIFA Club World Cup trophies inside his office for much of the past year.Get free access to the most comprehensive World Cup coverage in The Athletic app.Trump was in his first term in 2018 when the joint bid by the United States, Canada and Mexico secured hosting rights for the 2026 World Cup and, since returning to power in January last year, has allowed FIFA president Gianni Infantino more Oval Office appearances than any world political leader. Two of the tournament’s most famous players — Lionel Messi with his MLS Cup-winning team Inter Miami in March and Cristiano Ronaldo at a dinner also attended by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman — have also visited the White House in the past year.The president appeared on stage at the draw for the group phase of the tournament — as well as collecting FIFA’s inaugural Peace Prize — at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. in December. Soccer’s global governing body is also paying rent to the Trump family business by taking office space in Trump Tower in New York City.Donald Trump received FIFA’s first Peace Prize last December (Tasos Katopodis / FIFA via Getty Images)During last summer’s Club World Cup, a considerably less well-attended or established competition than the World Cup, the Trump administration made itself highly visible. Trump’s daughter Ivanka and grandson Theodore made the ceremonial first picks of the Club World Cup group draw in Miami, with Trump streamed in for a video message.The White House called the Juventus owner, executives, and team members including U.S. stars Weston McKennie and Tim Weah, into the Oval Office for an impromptu news conference on the afternoon of a Club World Cup game. At the tournament’s final, Trump strode onto the field to present the trophy and then bounced up and down alongside Chelsea’s captain Reece James when the England international lifted their prize.It has been a different story at this World Cup, however. It is historically unusual for the head of state of a host nation to skip their team’s opening game at a men’s World Cup but President Trump did not attend the United States’ opener against Paraguay at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on June 12. He did make a phone call to the U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino and captain Tim Ream earlier in the week, however, telling the team: “I think you’ve got a really good chance of going all the way.”An official explanation for the decision to miss the 4-1 win over Paraguay has not been provided but the White House hosted a UFC event to mark America’s 250th anniversary on the Sunday, June 14. People familiar with Trump’s schedule told The Athletic he would be attending walkthroughs for that appearance in the days leading up to it, which may have complicated a cross-country trip.