Donald Trump Speaks Out Again in Support of Gianni Infantino: “It Would Be a Terrible Mistake”

Donald Trump has once again come to Gianni Infantino’s defense against criticism over his handling of the controversial plan to sell a stake in the World Cup to private investors—a plan that was ultimately shelved following an outcry from numerous soccer federations. The U.S. president issued a very clear warning to the federations: forcing Infantino to resign would be a “terrible mistake.” In a message posted Monday evening on Truth Social, Trump openly praised the FIFA president, arguing that the organization “would never have had the same success or the same profits without Infantino.” Then came the pointed remark: “FIFA would be making a very serious mistake if, for any reason, it even considered replacing President Gianni Infantino.”

This is not the first time Trump has taken a stand on issues concerning international soccer. A few months ago, “The Donald” received the FIFA Peace Prize from Infantino himself and, subsequently, also weighed in on a regulatory matter.

The U.S. president had, in fact, called the head of world soccer to urge him to lift the suspension of Folarin Balogun, a forward for the U.S. national team, whom he believed had been unfairly sent off. This pressure produced a surprising result: Balogun was “pardoned” and thus returned to the field as usual for the round of 16 match against Belgium. A match, incidentally, that the United States lost decisively, 4-1, to the team led by Pochettino.

Now Trump is once again stepping forward personally to defend Infantino, just as the FIFA president’s position appears more precarious following the failure of the plan to bring private investors into the World Cup business.