![[Subscription Customers Only] Jul 13, 2025; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; U.S. President Donald Trump on the pitch during the trophy presentation after the final of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Amanda Perobelli-Reuters via Imagn Images](https://gridironheroics.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/USATSI_26637022-e1752501536875.jpg "“He Made Everything Awkward” Donald Trump Boo’d Ruthlessly At Massive Sporting Event (Watch)")
Donald Trump is just about six months into his second Presidential Term and he has made it clear that he’ll use sports to his advantage. He continues to make steady appearances at big time sporting events, often times waving to fans who are cheering for him. Super Bowl 59 was the first example of this all the way back in February.
However, tides have changed.
“Are You Going To Leave?” Donald Trump Boo’d Ruthlessly At Massive Sporting Event (Watch)
When English soccer team Chelsea lifted the FIFA Club World Cup trophy on Sunday in New Jersey, its star who scored twice in the 3-0 victory over Paris Saint-Germain and was named player of the tournament was blocked from view.
Cole Palmer looked perplexed and frustrated as Donald Trump stood in front of him, smiling and clapping, even as FIFA President Gianni Infantino could be seen unsuccessfully urging the U.S. President to move aside so as not to obstruct the team’s celebrations.
“I was a bit confused,” Palmer later said. “I knew he was going to be there, but I didn’t know he was going to be on the stand where we lifted the trophy.”
During the awkward moment, Chelsea captain Reece James appeared to ask Trump, “Are you going to leave?” Later, in response to a reporter’s question, James said of the President’s presence at the match, “It probably highlights how big the tournament is,” though he noted he didn’t expect Trump to remain front-and-center. “Before they told me that he was going to present the trophy and then exit the stage. I thought that he was going to exit the stage, but he wanted to stay.”
Infantino eventually walked Trump to the back of the group, so Palmer and others could enjoy the spotlight, but not before the White House and President got the photo-ops they wanted.
Trump’s presence at MetLife Stadium was meant to mark as much a celebration for the U.S. as it was for the sport, with the club tournament final taking place at the same venue where the FIFA World Cup final is set to take place in 2026.
But Chelsea and PSG fans seemed to set aside their rivalries and unite around their dislike of Trump, booing him on several occasions throughout the evening, including when he was shown on the Jumbotron during the U.S. national anthem before the match and during the trophy presentation after.
Trump, who is largely unpopular in the U.S. and globally, and Infantino, who took over FIFA in 2016 as it was already marred by corruption scandals and has since been accused of disregarding human-rights concerns, have linked arms over the years to try to bring soccer to the U.S.
A replica of the World Cup trophy was spotted in Trump’s Oval Office as early as 2018, the year that Infantino announced the U.S. would co-host the 2026 international tournament alongside neighbors Canada and Mexico. The Club World Cup trophy also spent some time on the President’s desk earlier this year after Infantino presented it to Trump in March The gold, NASA-inspired trophy could be seen in the background of major announcements, “from nuclear warnings to Iran to celebrating the trade deal with Britain,” according to Sky News. Infantino announced last week that FIFA opened an office in Trump Tower in New York City.
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