President Donald Trump is starting to make it a habit of doing weird things around pro soccer players.
The president attended the FIFA Club World Cup final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, where Chelsea stunned Paris Saint-German in a 3-0 upset.
Afterward, Trump went on stage to present Chelsea with the tournament trophy—and then refused to leave, standing front and center as the team hoisted it in the air to celebrate.
Video footage shows team captain Reece James preparing to lift the trophy as Trump stands next to him, in front of star midfielder Cole Palmer.
Palmer—who scored two goals and was named the tournament’s best player—puts out a hand to stop James, apparently so Trump can step aside first. But the president remains rooted to his spot, blocking the tournament MVP of all people.
James then turns and says something to Trump, and FIFA President Gianni Infantino tries to usher him off the stage, all to no avail. Once it becomes clear Trump isn’t going anywhere, James lifts the trophy over his head, and the players jump up and down and cheer.
Eventually, Infantino was able to push Trump back through the crowd of players so that at least he was behind them instead of in front, leaving the team members free to pass around the trophy amongst themselves.
Afterward the players seemed baffled by the president’s behavior.
“They told me that he was going to present the trophy and then exit the stage, and I thought that he was going to exit the stage, but he wanted to stay,” James said, according to PA Media.
Palmer said he also knew Trump was going to be there, but that he didn’t know he was going to be on the stand with them during the trophy lift.
“I was a bit confused, yes,” he said.
The president apparently didn’t notice there was anything amiss about his trophy bombing and shared a photo of himself with the team on Truth Social that featured Palmer scowling.
Earlier in the evening, fans who packed the 80,000-person capacity MetLife Stadium had already booed Trump during the national anthem, and then again when he walked out on the pitch to present the trophy.
The president also gave a strange interview to broadcaster DAZN Football in which he declared, “I am having a really great time. Tremendous sport,” with all the enthusiasm of a hostage victim.
Sunday, however, wasn’t Trump’s first bizarre run-in with FIFA Club World Cup players.
Last month, members of the storied Italian club Juventus—which includes two U.S. Men’s National Team players—were forced to stand around awkwardly in the Oval Office while Trump discussed missile strikes, travel bans, and women playing men’s sports.
The president is friends with Infantino and had been promoting the FIFA club championships ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will be jointly hosted by the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.
