President Trump awarded Spain their medals and trophy on Sunday following the team’s stunning victory over Argentina at the World Cup tournament final.
Trump joined FIFA president Giovanni Infantino on the field minutes after Spain defeated Argentina 1-0 after a long and difficult game in which both teams struggled to score for long stretches. Take a look:
Per tradition, the leader of the host country often awards the winning team its trophy and medals at the conclusion of the World Cup final. Trump did not officially state which team he hoped would be victorious, but he did express his appreciation for Argentina superstar Lionel Messi and Portugal superstar Cristiano Ronaldo.
“I got to see Pele play, and he was great,” said the president. “Look, these are great players, and there are others. Look at France; he had a rough game the other day, but he’s [Mbappe] certainly one of the greats. I get this information from my son. My son Barron is a tremendous soccer fan.”
“You have some other really incredible players playing here, but I would say right now, when you look, I’ve always liked Ronaldo, and I’ve always liked Messi. I met Messi recently, and I know Cristiano; they have a pretty good life. I think they have a pretty good life, actually, much easier than my life! I want to switch for about a month or so,” he added.
The president also hailed the World Cup a success, adding that the United States will be bidding to host again “immediately.”
“Based on the numbers, we will be requesting it again immediately. I said, to take out the shock, you could announce another country for the next one… but we have to do this again,” he added.