Donald Trump appeared at the World Cup final, blaming Canada for wildfire smoke and threatening tariffs as he presented the trophy.
Donald Trump will attend the World Cup final on Sunday as Canadian wildfire smoke engulfs MetLife Stadium, and he has already blamed Ottawa for the entire mess.
The president has been threatening to impose tariffs on Canada over what he says is dirty, polluted air that has plagued the Northeast for a week, turning what was supposed to be a celebratory football game into another political headache.
Trump has a full weekend planned. He arrived in New York on Friday to attend a FIFA reception at Trump Tower before heading to New Jersey for the championship game between Spain and Argentina.
But here’s the thing about Trump and this game.
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He has missed every game so far, leaving other members of the administration like Marco Rubio to watch in his absence.
According to the White House, his attendance will cap off the most watched, safest and most successful World Cup in U.S. history.
More than 3.6 million people packed stadiums across the country, with 27.5 million Americans tuning in when the United States took on Paraguay. Numbers like that would make any president want to attend the finals.
But Trump already has a record of intervening in this tournament, but the effect is not ideal.
He called FIFA president Gianni Infantino directly and reviewed U.S. forward Folarin Balogun’s red card, which had his suspension lifted.
The U.S. team then lost to the Belgian team 1-4 and was eliminated. Many people blamed Trump’s interference for causing the team to lose momentum.
His history of appearances at major sporting events such as the Super Bowl, Daytona 500, Ryder Cup, UFC games and NBA Finals has always been about creating moments about him, and this World Cup final is no exception.
The smog situation is actually a perfect storm for Trump’s brand of politics.
Not only did he join the race, he used the air quality crisis to make headlines about tariffs and blame Canada, turning a natural disaster into a conversation about a trade war.
Meanwhile, the real football game is about to begin and all this chaos surrounds it, with Trump making sure everyone knows he’s the one controlling the narrative.
FIFA and the White House have been meeting to discuss whether the smoke will actually affect the game, but Trump has shrugged off that concern and used it directly as leverage.
The real question is whether Sunday’s final will be remembered for the performances of Spain and Argentina, or for the emergence of Trump and his weaponized Canadian smog controversy.
His attendance at major sporting events always brings security concerns and divided crowds, but this time he has to deal with a natural disaster and he’s not going to waste the opportunity.
Trump has announced that he will personally present the trophy to ensure that his image is directly linked to the championship.
