Donald Trump talks about his call with Gianni Infantino in the Oval Office. Image: keystone
analysis
The US President defaces the White House, Washington – and now also the most beautiful game in the world.
July 7, 2026, 3:44 p.mJuly 7, 2026, 3:44 p.m
Contrary to all expectations, the World Championships in the USA were a joyful celebration. Despite the horrendous prices for entrance and train tickets and despite the sweltering heat, hundreds of thousands enjoy the games and even the American junk food. Ranch sauce, a mixture of buttermilk, half cream, mayonnaise and various spices, has become the culinary hit of the World Cup.
Enter Donald Trump. He may not be able to tell the difference between a tennis ball and a soccer ball, but the pathological narcissist can’t stand not being in the spotlight. That’s why he took a decision by the VAR – a decision about which there can be divided opinion – against Folarin Balogun, the star of the American team, as an opportunity to extort a pardon from FIFA.
Red card for FIFA: Gianni Infantino in the Oval Office with the President.Image: keystone
Although a red card automatically results in at least one suspension for one of the following games, Balogun was allowed to play against Belgium. The fact that the Americans ultimately lost 4-1 became a minor matter. The blatant violation of the rules shocked the football community worldwide.
The statements from the White House and FIFA caused even more indignation. Trump, who clearly has no knowledge of the rules of football, complained that it was unfair for a player to be suspended for an upcoming game. FIFA President Gianni Infantino even went out of his way to claim that Trump had absolutely nothing to do with the appeal of the verdict against Balogun. Presidential blackmail and FIFA’s pathetic behavior will leave an ugly stain on America’s previously pristine World Cup record.
Meanwhile, the US President becomes a reverse King Midas. For anyone who had a window seat in history class: The king in question is a figure from Greek mythology. He was so greedy that the gods punished him by turning everything he touched into gold and eventually starving to death.
With Trump, everything becomes dirt: be it the White House, which he has completely covered in gold, be it the East Wing, which he has torn down and wants to replace with a gigantic ballroom, be it the lawn in front of the White House, which he had concreted over and on which he temporarily had a fighting cage built, be it the Reflecting Pool, which he turned into green algae sludge, or be it the planned Triumphal Arch, whose only quality is that it obscures the view moved to the Heroes’ Cemetery in Arlington.
Covered in gold: the Oval Office.Image: keystone
The fact that Trump ultimately allowed the 250th anniversary celebrations to degenerate into a smear theater in the service of his person is only mentioned in passing.
Politically, nothing is going according to plan for Trump in his second year in office. The Iran War is a debacle, the affordability crisis is unresolved, and poll numbers are at an all-time low. All of this would be cause for at least a bit of schadenfreude, but with an emphasis on the subjunctive. Trump’s uncanny talent for turning everything into dirt can become the greatest threat to world peace.
The NATO summit begins today in Türkiye. There were already signs in advance that set alarm bells ringing. On Saturday, Trump spoke to Vladimir Putin on the phone for 90 minutes. Nothing has been revealed about the content of this conversation, but we know from painful experience: If the two of them talk to each other, things don’t end well.
Trump has also resumed his guerrilla war against Giorgia Meloni, Italy’s prime minister. He posted a picture with his former best friend in Europe and wrote underneath that a restraining order was needed. The US President was alluding to a remark from the G7 summit when he claimed that Meloni had almost wanted to force him to take a selfie together.
No longer best friends: Giorgia Meloni and Donald Trump.Image: keystone
Trump is angry with Meloni because she banned the US armed forces from using their bases in Italy for the Iran war. And he is generally angry with NATO because he did not receive any support from this alliance in this ill-fated undertaking.
Putin could use the discord within the transatlantic alliance as an opportunity to test the allies’ loyalty to the alliance with limited attacks – for example on the Baltic states. William Burns, the former CIA director, explains: “The risk of escalation is great and growing, especially as Putin comes under increasing pressure at home and on the battlefield.”
Donald Tusk, the Polish Prime Minister, shares these fears. “I don’t want to make anyone panic,” he says. “But the coming months could be critical. The fear is palpable, especially in the Baltic states.”
Like Putin, Trump doesn’t like the EU or NATO. In addition, he could not cope with the fact that his wish to acquire Greenland was denied him. The Russian president, for his part, might be tempted to use small pinpricks against a NATO state to distract from how bad his hand in Ukraine has become.
Putin emphasizes again and again that he is not waging war against Ukraine, but rather against the West. If the USA does not fulfill its obligation set out in Article 5 of the NATO Treaty to trigger a common defense by all in the event of an attack on one member, then things will get uncomfortable. Without an American protective shield, Europe is vulnerable – and this will not change any time soon.