One of these things doesn’t belong.
For anyone familiar with Donald Trump’s late-stage political antics, watching the postgame ceremonies after Spain won the 2026 World Cup final was like watching a slow-motion fender bender. You knew there was going to be some low-stakes embarrassment and an avoidable yet somehow unavoidable collision that no one could stop, it was just a matter of when. How would a man who is incapable of not trying to be the center of everyone’s attention handle being a part of, but not really a part of, one of the biggest sports moments in the world? The answer, which may mirror Trump’s plan for 2029: just don’t leave.
At first, there was just some run-of-the-mill Trump stuff. He strolled out on the field with FIFA president Gianni Infantino as boos rained down at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, but both were likely to be widely disliked among that crowd so it was no surprise. Then Trump was the second person on stage greeting players and, along with Infantino, hanging medals around their necks. Some people seemed to dodge or half-commit to his handshake, he might have given medals to people who weren’t supposed to get them, and Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian prime minister Mark Carney weren’t given anything to do for some reason, but otherwise there’s wasn’t much drama beyond wondering what Trump was saying, whether he was jealous of all the gold things other people were getting (you just know Trump would love to add a big golden ball or hand to his mantle in the Oval Office), and whether he even understood who anyone was other than Lionel Messi.