The president presented Chelsea with their trophy at the game, but remained at the front of the stage as the team celebrated
President Donald Trump was met with a less than enthusiastic response from some fans at the FIFA Club World Cup.
The president’s presence drew an unhappy response from the crowd gathered at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Sunday, July 13, where Trump joined FIFA president Gianni Infantino on the pitch for the awards ceremony. The championship saw Chelsea defeat Paris Saint-Germain, 3-0.
According to the White House pool report, Trump and Infantino walked onto the pitch, where Trump waved to the crowd as boos erupted around the stadium. When the pair appeared on the jumbotron, the report stated, they “were booed again. There was also some applause, whistling and cheering. The music in the stadium then drowned the boos.”
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The crowd’s reaction to Trump wasn’t his only awkward moment of the match. When Chelsea was presented the FIFA trophy, Trump stood front and center — right in front of Cole Palmer, the team’s star player who made two of the team’s three goals in the game.
Though Infantino encouraged Trump to step aside to let the team celebrate in the spotlight, the president stayed put.
“I was a bit confused,” Palmer said afterwards, according to a post on X from The Athletic. “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 celebration, according to Time, Chelsea’s captain Reece James appeared to ask Trump, “Are you going to leave?”
