Trump’s delay on stage with Rodri’s trophy, the reason behind it

On Sunday night, US President Donald Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino presented the trophy to the winners on the stage of the FIFA World Cup final. But Trump was on stage for a long time even when Rodri and Yamal held the trophy high. Along with the champions, the US President has taken a large part of the spotlight for himself.

Earlier, when Trump was entering the field with the FIFA President, he had to hear a huge duet from the audience throughout the stadium. However, ignoring all this, Trump was the center of attention throughout the closing ceremony of the tournament. He has already called this World Cup 'probably the most successful sporting event in the history of the world'.

Attempt to remove

When the Spanish team was jubilantly holding the trophy high, FIFA President Infantino tried to remove Trump from the stage. But the 80-year-old American leader stood there for a while longer. He even performed a short version of his signature ‘Trump Dance’ in front of the Spanish players.

Trump flew to New Jersey Stadium in his own ‘Marine One’ helicopter to watch the final between Spain and Argentina. During the match, he sat next to Infantino and First Lady Melania Trump and stood to salute during the playing of the US national anthem.

Before the game, Trump said that superstar Lionel Messi would give Argentina a slight edge. At the same time, he also mentioned his close relationship with Argentina’s right-wing President Javier Tebas. However, Trump told reporters after the match that he was ‘not sorry’ about Argentina’s loss. Trump said, ‘I would say Spain played well, really.’

An opportunity for diplomatic talks

The final match also provided an opportunity for Trump to do some diplomatic talks. Donald Trump said he spoke with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who is co-hosting the tournament with the United States and Mexico. They discussed the smoke from wildfires in Canada that had spread to the northeastern United States. At one point, there were concerns that the final match would be disrupted due to this smoke.

Noting that he has a "good relationship" with the Canadian Prime Minister, Trump said, "But maybe they should give us some compensation or something like that, or we should put some tariffs on it."

Trump also said he spoke with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. Although he has recently criticized Madrid for not helping the Iran war and not meeting NATO spending targets, he claimed that "there was no tension" in his conversation with Sanchez.

'It was extraordinary'

Trump jointly presented the World Cup trophy to Spain with FIFA President Infantino. It was the first World Cup match for the 80-year-old leader, who prefers crowded public events, to watch from the stands. But it was not his first intervention during the tournament.

Just two weeks ago, Trump stirred controversy by calling Infantino to urge FIFA to suspend the red card of US striker Folarin Balogun. Despite widespread criticism of the sport's impartiality and the influence of power, Trump has called the 2026 tournament the best in history.

"This is probably the most successful sporting event in the history of the world. It was really extraordinary," Trump said at a FIFA reception with Infantino at Trump Tower in New York on Friday.

'Soccer country'

Donald Trump believes the tournament's 104 matches have helped boost the game's popularity in the United States. "We are a soccer country, and I think we will continue to be one," he said. He added that his 20-year-old son Barron is a big soccer fan.

Since returning to the White House in January 2025, Trump has linked his political brand to the World Cup, hosting Infantino on several occasions. However, just before the tournament began, Trump's immigration policies created some complications. Many foreign football fans faced visa-related problems.