Donald Trump’s nepotistic lackey has a bonkers excuse for the president’s absence from the World Cup.
Trump has a track record of appearing in the stands at sporting events—whether the fans like it or not—yet with the eyes of the world on the U.S., he is nowhere to be seen.
White House World Cup task force chief Andrew Giuliani, son of disbarred lawyer and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, suggested it’s all part of the show.
“I know he’s got a couple of international trips that he has planned as well as Independence Day, so the only thing I’ll tell you about my boss—and I’ve known him for, heck, 30 years, and he’s kind of like an uncle figure to me—he likes a good cliffhanger, right?” he told The Telegraph.
“He likes to leave people watching, so all I can tell you is ‘keep tuned in’, and I’m excited to see what the next steps are.”
It comes despite a breathtaking start to the competition for the United States Men’s National Team, which has already finished top of its group with a game to go, and for only the third time in its history.
Trump triggered a personal PR catastrophe earlier in June when he attended Game 3 of the NBA finals between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs.
Overall, the Knicks surged to a historic victory, winning 4-1—with that one loss being the game Trump attended.
It led to longer lines into Madison Square Garden, additional security measures, and booing as he approached the stadium and when his face appeared on the Jumbotron. On top of that, he appeared to fall asleep.
While some fans may not mind, the person who will likely be most disappointed by the 80-year-old’s snubbing of the World Cup so far will be Swiss FIFA boss and Trump sycophant Gianni Infantino.
The 56-year-old has long sought Trump’s affections by sucking-up to him. It was Infantino who—when it became clear that Trump wasn’t to win the Nobel Peace Prize—created and presented Trump with the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize.
Infantino has been dog-legging across the North American continent in a bid to see two live games a day in a private jet, but the one person he will likely want to see at some of those matches has yet to make an appearance.
The Telegraph reports that the pair are in regular contact, but that Infantino may have to wait until the final in New Jersey on July 19 to get a shot of them both watching the world’s favorite sport together.
A source told the outlet the only exception would be if the USMNT reached the semifinals.
“The president is preoccupied with the U.S.’s July 4 celebrations. The World Cup just isn’t on his radar at the moment,” the source told the British newspaper. “He will give the trophy at the final, but I don’t think we will see him before then. It’s possible he’ll go to a semi-final, but only if the U.S. gets that far.”
It is anticipated that Trump will present the trophy to the team that wins soccer’s most prestigious tournament, as he did after last year’s Club World Cup.
It is protocol for the captain of the winning team to collect it from a plinth and return it to their team, but an exception was made for Trump and is expected to be again.
When Chelsea F.C. won last year’s cup, Trump also caused astonishment by staying amongst the players as they celebrated, rather than stepping to one side.
During the incident, Infantino was seen gesturing to the president, who ignored him.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
