Trump attended Sunday’s World Cup Final as FIFA’s guest, seated beside FIFA President Gianni Infantino, with Melania Trump and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum also in the box.
When Jennifer Hudson finished her rendition of the national anthem and the Jumbotron cut to Trump, the stadium responded immediately. Journalist Brian Krassenstein posted footage of the moment with the caption: “MASSIVE BOOS for Trump at World Cup. He has to be livid!” Seconds later, the broadcast switched to an aerial shot of the stadium.
MASSIVE BOOS for Trump at World Cup.
He has to be livid! pic.twitter.com/r8KJvjeJwA
— Brian Krassenstein (@krassenstein) July 19, 2026
Betting markets had actually priced this in ahead of time.
Oddsmakers set Trump at -200 odds, translating to a 66% probability, that he would be audibly booed the moment cameras first found him. That number wasn’t drawn out of thin air.
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Trump has now been booed at every major New York-area sporting event he’s attended in recent memory, including the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden in June and the College Football Playoff national championship in Miami earlier this year. Sunday marked the second time in as many months he’s drawn boos at a stadium in the New York-New Jersey area specifically.
He is the first sitting U.S. president to attend a men’s World Cup Final. Bill Clinton attended the tournament’s opening ceremony in 1994 but skipped the final itself.
Trump’s presence this year followed months of him positioning himself close to the tournament’s leadership, having hosted Infantino at Trump Tower for a FIFA reception just two days before the final.
The relationship between Trump and Infantino has drawn its own criticism throughout the tournament, independent of Sunday’s boos.
Infantino created an entirely new “FIFA Peace Prize” specifically for Trump back in December, and this year’s tournament saw Trump personally intervene after a red card was issued to U.S. striker Folarin Balogun, a move that drew backlash even after the U.S. team was eliminated regardless.
At last year’s Club World Cup final, also at MetLife Stadium, Trump remained on stage well after presenting the trophy while the winning team celebrated, a choice one commentator described as turning the moment into as much about him as about the champions themselves.
Featured image via X screengrab
