Kenneth Glad
The tournament has brought crowds, flags and global attention to North America. It has also made one political absence harder to ignore.
A World Cup partly staged in the United States would normally offer a president easy pictures: Packed stadiums, visiting fans, television cameras and a ready-made message of national prestige.
Yet, according to The Guardian, Donald Trump has kept a striking distance from the 2026 tournament as it has unfolded across the United States, Mexico and Canada.
His clearest public comment came on Truth Social, where he wrote: “The FIFA Numbers are far greater than any World Cup in History. This is a Great Tribute to the United States of America.”
The crowd claim fits Trump’s usual taste for scale and spectacle. But the expanded tournament also means there are more matches than before, making raw attendance comparisons less straightforward.
Avoiding the frame
The Guardian columnist Barney Ronay compares the approach with Vladimir Putin’s handling of Russia 2018, when the host government tried to let the event project order and openness without constant political intrusion.
That logic is familiar around mega-events. Leaders want the glow, but not the risk of becoming the disruption. Boos, protests, security images or a hostile news cycle can quickly overwhelm the intended pageantry.
For Trump, the calculation may be especially delicate. He has been booed at other sporting events, and football crowds are rarely deferential. A World Cup stadium is not a controlled rally room.
The tournament also carries a message that is difficult to separate from migration, mixed identities and diaspora pride. Supporters arrive with multiple flags, players often embody layered national stories, and the atmosphere is built around movement across borders.
That does not sit neatly beside hardline political language about exclusion. In that sense, the World Cup is not just another sporting event. It is a visible reminder of the international connections that shape modern countries.
A useful absence
The absence may therefore be tactical rather than casual. By remaining outside the stadium frame, Trump avoids giving the tournament a single domestic political target while still claiming credit for its scale.
He can point to the crowds, the attention and the spectacle without having to stand inside a venue where the response may be harder to control.
It also allows the event to do its softer work without him. The crowds, colors and television images can suggest success, hospitality and national reach, while the president avoids the unpredictable reaction that might come with appearing in person. In a live stadium, even a brief chorus of boos can travel further than the official message.
For a leader who usually seeks the center of attention, the restraint itself becomes notable, suggesting that this particular stage may be more complicated than useful.
Source: The Guardian.
