President Donald Trump's comments about Lionel Messi before Argentina's loss to Spain in the World Cup Final has reignited questions about whether or not his presence curses the teams he supports.In a pre-recorded interview with Fox's Jenny Taft that aired before the game, Trump didn't state who he wanted to win but made friendly remarks about the Argentinian superstar."I thought about it a lot. I knew that was a question. I hate to get involved, even though politically, it doesn't matter so much," Trump said. "I would say that it's hard to bet against Messi … I won't pick sides. I just think it's very hard to bet against Messi. He's great."Trump attended the game and was booed when he stepped onto the field to present the trophies for the tournament. During the handing out of silver medals, the interaction between Trump and Messi was brief.Trump has regularly attended sporting events and surrounded himself with sports stars while in office, with multiple examples of teams losing after being connected to him.Here's what to know about a potential Trump sports curse.USMNT nightmare performance follows Trump interventionThe U.S. men's national team exited the World Cup with a nightmare performance in a 4-1 loss to Belgium.The game followed Trump asking FIFA president Gianni Infantino to review the controversial red card issued to forward Folarin Balogun during the U.S.'s round of 32 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina.FIFA suspended Balogun's one-game ban, allowing the star striker to play in the eventual end to the co-host's run.The Belgian Football Association mocked the decision on social media after the dominant victory, posting an image of Romalu Lukaku's celebration after the fourth goal and saying, "overturn this."New York Knicks' only NBA Finals loss comes in game Trump attendedThe New York Knicks' only loss during the 2026 NBA Finals came in Game 3 – the only one the New York City native attended.In the wake of the 111-115 loss to the San Antonio Spurs that snapped a 13-game winning streak, Knicks fans accused Trump of placing a "curse" on the team.That caused some fans to "cleanse" Madison Square Garden. Kazeem Famuyide, an Emmy award-winning host for the Knicks' podcast "Big Apple Buckets," posted video of him and his friends holding sage outside of MSG.The Knicks went on to win the series in five games.Commanders lose Trump-attended game, Lions collapse shortly thereafterIn November 2025, Trump attended a Washington Commanders game during which the Detroit Lions defeated the Commanders, 44-22.He received a mixed reaction at FedEx Field.During the victory, Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown celebrated a touchdown with the "Trump Dance," for which he apologized. The Lions collapsed after the victory against the Commanders, losing five of their last eight games and missed the playoffs. Former NFL wide receiver Kenny Stills responded to a social media post of the Lions' record following the Commanders game by saying "Trump curse."Trump attends Ryder Cup, US losesTrump attended the first day of competition at the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage's Black Course on Long Island, New York.The U.S. was down 3-1 to Europe following the morning round when Trump told reporters, "We're going to get it done. One way or another, we'll get it done." The U.S. finished the day down 5 1/2 to 2 1/2 by day's end.Europe won the competition 15-13, and the president of the PGA of America apologized for the chants directed at Team Europe that he called "disrespectful."Contributing: Joey Garrison, Fernando Cervantes, Kinsey Crowley – USA TODAY