So Donald Trump finally makes it to the World Cup final—and naturally, even the World Cup somehow becomes about Donald Trump.
The game is Spain versus Argentina. Politically, Trump is clearly pulling for Argentina. Argentina is led by Javier Milei, one of Trump’s favorite ideological partners—a man who apparently looked at Trump and said, “I like the concept, but could we add a chainsaw?”
Meanwhile, Trump has spent plenty of time criticizing Spain and its government. So, naturally, Spain beats Argentina 1–0 in extra time and wins the World Cup. (AP News)
That is not merely a soccer result. That is the universe writing political comedy.
Trump shows up expecting Argentina to win. Instead, the country he has criticized wins the biggest sporting event on Earth, and now he has to stand there smiling while Spain receives the trophy.
You could almost hear his internal monologue:
“Spain won? Are we sure? I’m hearing Argentina won. A lot of people are saying Argentina won. Frankly, the score was very unfair.”
But the truly incredible part came during the trophy presentation.
Spain’s players are gathering around. They’ve trained their entire lives for this moment. They have survived the group stage, the knockout rounds, extra time and the pressure of representing an entire country.
They lift the World Cup—and Donald Trump is still standing right in the middle of the picture.
Because this man does not recognize a moment that isn’t improved by more Donald Trump.
Finally, FIFA President Gianni Infantino appears to gently guide him away from the center of the celebration. Not aggressively. More like somebody helping an elderly wedding guest understand that the photographer is trying to take a picture of the bride and groom. (The Guardian)
“Mr. President…this way.”
Trump is probably thinking, “Why? I helped. I watched the entire second half.”
And that is the heart of it: the complete lack of self-awareness.
Most people understand when the moment belongs to somebody else. When somebody wins a championship, you congratulate them, step aside and let them celebrate.
Trump sees a championship stage and thinks, “Excellent. They built me another platform.”
It happened at the Club World Cup, and now it happened again at the actual World Cup. At this point, FIFA may need a new rule:
Once the trophy is presented, all politicians must remain at least ten yards away from the champions.
They can call it the offside rule for narcissists.
The embarrassing part wasn’t simply that Trump stayed too long. It was that someone apparently had to explain to the President of the United States that Spain winning the World Cup was not actually his personal photo opportunity.
Spain won the match.
Argentina lost the match.
And somehow, Donald Trump still tried to win the ceremony.
But for once, somebody gently moved him out of the picture.
And honestly, that may have been Spain’s second victory of the night.
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