Donald Trump has not attended a single World Cup match — on American soil, in a tournament he spent years engineering — and the reason is becoming increasingly hard to ignore. Fan chants referencing his ties to Jeffrey Epstein have spread so widely through stadiums that White House officials are now in what sources describe as "crisis mode," scrambling to stop the president from being exposed to them in person.
The concern is specific: English-speaking supporters. Fans from England, Scotland, Australia, and New Zealand have each crafted songs linking Trump to Epstein that are now standard repertoire in bars and stadiums. They're not fringe chants. Australian supporters went viral weeks ago, with footage from World Cup host cities racking up millions of views. The songs are intelligible to every American TV viewer. That's what makes them a political problem that can't be managed with careful scheduling.
The Trophy Ceremony Is Now a Real Question
It's not just group stage matches at stake. Serious doubts are being raised about whether Trump will even appear at the July 19 final to hand over the trophy — the single highest-profile moment of a tournament he has claimed as a symbol of American prestige. An insider told The Mirror: "His staff are in crisis mode trying to prevent the President from being exposed to the chants in person, and that includes avoiding matches involving English-speaking teams."
The political backdrop matters. Trump has always denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein. He has not been accused of any crimes, nor identified as the subject of any investigation. His name appearing in released Epstein-related documentation does not constitute evidence of illegal activity. But the political damage of the association hasn't faded — and football crowds, unlike carefully choreographed campaign rallies, have zero interest in managing anyone's sensitivities.
Trump described Epstein as a "terrific guy" and "a lot of fun to be with" in a 2002 New York magazine interview. The two moved in the same elite circles through the 1980s and 1990s. Trump has since said there was a falling out before Epstein's criminal convictions and claims he banned him from Mar-a-Lago. That context hasn't stopped the chants. If anything, it's given them staying power.
The Gap Between the Optics and the Reality
FIFA president Gianni Infantino handed Trump football's inaugural 'Peace Prize' at the World Cup draw and has made multiple trips to the White House. Trump received a warm public embrace from the sport's governing body. Weeks later, he authorized military strikes against Iran. The gap between the ceremonial welcome and the crowd reaction inside actual stadiums tells its own story about how international football supporters view American political theater.
In Trump's absence, Marco Rubio attended the US opener. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has shown up at matches and been loudly jeered when his face appeared on stadium screens. The administration is present. Trump is not.
As England and Scotland potentially advance deeper into the knockout rounds, the pressure point only sharpens. A deep England run to the final would make avoiding the trophy ceremony nearly untenable — and the Wembley-caliber noise that would greet him there would be inescapable, on every broadcast, in every clip. One Washington insider put it plainly: "Soccer supporters are seizing on that. Whether the White House likes it or not, they have found a chant that instantly gets a reaction because everyone knows exactly what it refers to."
