Morocco’s win is perhaps fitting for Independence Day. The country was the first to formally recognize American sovereignty all the way back in 1777, more than a half-decade before the end of the Revolutionary War. On Saturday, they took down Canada by a 3-0 scoreline, with goals from Azzedine Ounahi and Soufiane Rahimi.
Politics
Americans are fed up with politics invading every aspect of their lives. But many can’t kick the habit.
Roughly 60 percent of Americans say it feels like politics are everywhere these days where it does not make sense for things to be political, according to new results from The POLITICO Poll. It’s a rare point of harmony between Republicans and Democrats, with majorities of both parties also agreeing that it is becoming less important what celebrities say about politics.
Unless they agree with them.
The same people who want politics out of everyday life are still influenced when the celebrities’ or athletes’ opinions align with their own. Nearly 70 percent of voters who backed Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024 would think “more positively” about a movie star if they spoke out against President Donald Trump. The inverse is also true: For nearly 60 percent of the president’s voters, their perception of a star would improve if they expressed support for him.
That picture comes into even sharper relief among the strongest partisans, who are more likely to expect that their favorite celebrities and institutions around them express their political views than those who are more in the middle.
That presents a complicated and often contradictory picture of how voters engage in politics as it bleeds into their daily lives — and the precarious line celebrities and local leaders need to walk as culture and politics become hard to detangle.
Celebrities and athletes have increasingly spoken out about causes like ICE crackdowns and racial equity on the world stage. Key culture podcasts — from the Joe Rogan Experience to Call Her Daddy — have hosted politicians including Trump and Harris. And actors like George Clooney were critical in calling for former President Joe Biden to end his 2024 campaign.
“Everyone should always speak up for what they believe in,” said Jordan C. Brown, a Los Angeles-based Democratic strategist who has worked with campaigns and celebrities alike. “But there is a cost, and I think I would just caution people of the cost.”
The result is an American public that doesn’t quite know what it wants, one that’s tired of their lives being politicized — but are also influenced by partisan statements.
Majorities of both Harris and Trump voters say politics has invaded spaces where it doesn’t belong, but Trump voters are more concerned than Harris voters are.
For example, most Trump voters (52 percent) say there is too much politics in sports, compared to 31 percent of Harris voters who say the same. In some areas of daily life — like sports, movies and on television, and music — pluralities of Harris voters say there’s an acceptable amount of politics present.
But few Americans say they want more.
Some Americans also claim bringing politics into other realms doesn’t affect them. A plurality of Harris voters — 38 percent — say it doesn’t matter to them if athletes, for example, talk about politics.
And yet, the poll finds, Republicans and Democrats alike actually are swayed by statements from businesses and celebrities.
Strong majorities report that celebrities’, athletes’ or even their local grocery store owners’ political statements impact their views of that individual. And roughly one in five people say they have changed their own opinion on a political topic because a celebrity spoke out about it.
The poll results also reveal a clear pattern for when those statements matter most: Americans respond positively to them when they reflect their own world views.
The majority of 2024 Trump voters say they would view an athlete more positively if they made statements aligned with the president’s agenda, like “We need to crack down on the crime running rampant in our cities.” On the other side, over 60 percent of Harris voters say they would think more positively about athletes who make statements like “We need to tax the richest people in this country.” That’s true even for voters on both sides who said there is “too much” politics in sports.
It’s a familiar phenomenon, according to Shaun Harper, a University of Southern California professor who has researched athletes’ political activism. He described the “‘I don’t want politics in my sports unless they’re my politics’” mindset as “anti-democratic.”
“It is unfair to athletes and to our democracy to expect them to only selectively leverage their platforms and their free speech rights,” he said.
The strongest partisans are even more curious about what local, religious and cultural leaders have to say compared with those in the center.
More than one-third of Trump voters who self-identify as “MAGA Republicans”, the president’s most loyal base, say religious institutions should make their views clear to their followers, compared to 22 percent of non-MAGA Trump voters.
MAGA Trump voters are also more likely to act on those political differences: Forty-three percent say they would not buy from a business that made clear it held different political views — compared with 27 percent of non-MAGA Trump voters and roughly 30 percent across all adults.
On the other side of the aisle, about one-third of self-identified “strong” Democrats say athletes should make their political views clear, double the 16 percent of those who say they are “not strong” Democrats who agree.
And 36 percent of “strong” Democrats believe schools and universities should make their political views clear to their students, compared to 22 percent of “not strong” Democrats.
Those who voted third party, or who didn’t vote at all, are even less eager to hear about politics in their regular life: Just 12 percent say celebrities should make their political views clear to their fans. And less than 10 percent said they’ve changed their opinion about a political topic because a celebrity spoke about it.
The results shed light on an ongoing debate as stars and campaign strategists try to figure out how — or even if — to engage celebrities with politics.
Finding a way to do so that doesn’t damage their own careers, given the complexity of voters’ and fans’ partisan divides, can be difficult, the poll shows. When some voters claim to want neutrality but secretly want their favorite stars’ politics to match their own, but others demand political engagement, it leaves celebrities to decide which group they can upset the least.
Democrats have used celebrity endorsements and surrogates in significant measure since former President Barack Obama’s star-studded 2008 presidential campaign. Harris, two years ago, saw an outpouring of support for her presidential campaign from a host of VIPs: Beyoncé and Kelly Rowland appeared at her rally in Houston, Taylor Swift posted an endorsement for the former vice president to her millions of social media followers, and Lady Gaga performed at her election-eve rally in Philadelphia.
But that backfired for the celebrities when Harris lost, said Todd Hawkins, a Democratic strategist and consultant based in Los Angeles.
“What we saw was the biggest backlash as a result of losing, folks saying celebrities should not tell us what to do, no one cares about what they think,” he said.
Trepidation about the partisan divide is driving many celebrities’ reluctance to get involved in politics in a high-profile way — a dynamic captured by actor Jennifer Lawrence in a 2025 interview with the New York Times, when she was asked about her willingness to speak out against Trump.
“I don’t really know if I should,” she said. “But as we’ve learned, election after election, celebrities do not make a difference whatsoever on who people vote for. So then what am I doing? I’m just sharing my opinion on something that’s going to add fuel to a fire that’s ripping the country apart.”
Last year, actor and entrepreneur Selena Gomez posted — and later deleted — a tearful video responding to immigration crackdowns that drew criticism from the right. And Hunter Hess, an Olympic freestyle skier, drew heat from Trump for saying that representing the U.S. in the Games “brings up mixed emotions” after Alex Pretti and Renée Good were shot and killed by ICE agents in Minneapolis.
“They’re very concerned, they’re scared as hell, but they were scared last year more than anything,” Hawkins said of celebrities. “I still see trepidation on how and what they will do to be engaged.”
The connection between politics and pop culture, however, will hardly dissolve anytime soon, said Brown, the LA-based Democratic strategist: “There’s that phrase: the only thing Hollywood and D.C. love more than themselves are each other.”
Politics
As Canada exits the World Cup, Prime Minister Mark Carney posted on X: “Today, we feel nothing but pride … An incredible journey that bodes well for great things to come. Thank you to our team, the fans, and everyone who contributed to our best performance to date at the World Cup.” Canada is the first host nation to be knocked out of the 2026 tournament. Mexico plays England on Sunday evening and the U.S. takes on Belgium on Monday.
Politics
Demonstrators donning the logo and insignia of Patriot Front, a white supremacist group, were seen protesting in the Eastern Market neighborhood and on Capitol Hill on the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence.
Sporting white masks, sunglasses and Patriot Front’s signature tan caps, the protesters carried Confederate, Patriot Front and upside-down U.S. flags as they marched through Capitol Hill. The group was also photographed riding public transit on Saturday morning.
Outside Union Station, demonstrators chanted phrases including “Life, liberty, victory!” and “Reclaim America!” — slogans regularly used by the group.
The demonstration unfolded as tourists and Americans alike flocked to the “Salute to America” celebration on the National Mall, which will culminate in a speech by President Donald Trump and a fireworks show expected to last for a record-breaking 40 minutes. The Trump administration has made the nation’s 250th anniversary a top priority over the past few months through high-profile initiatives like the Great American State Fair and restoration work at the Reflecting Pool.
Later, anti-Trump demonstrators were filmed walking toward the White House carrying a large Declaration of Independence banner and chanting “8647,” a slogan calling for Trump’s removal from the presidency.
Patriot Front was founded in 2017 by Thomas Ryan Rousseau, who split from the alt-right organization Vanguard America in the aftermath of the deadly Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Patriot Front’s website describes the group as a “fraternal, nationalist, activist organization” and writes that “Our people, born to this nation of our European race, must reforge themselves as a new collective capable of asserting our right to cultural independence.”
The D.C. mayor’s office referred POLITICO to the Metropolitan police department for comment.
“The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) is tracking First Amendment activities that occurred this morning in the Eastern Market neighborhood,” the department said in a statement Saturday. “MPD recognizes the rights of individuals to peacefully express their views and remains committed to maintaining public safety and security for DC residents and visitors.”
Gregory Svirnovskiy contributed to this report.
Politics
MAGA-friendly Abelardo de la Espriella’s decision to make Colombia’s national soccer jersey a defining feature of his victorious right-wing presidential campaign has sparked a debate over the political ownership of national symbols.
While the yellow shirt has long been associated with moments of collective celebration, critics argue that its prominent use by a partisan candidate risks recasting it as a marker of political identity. A Bogotá judge even banned de la Espriella from wearing the jersey while campaigning before the June 21 vote.
After hearing from fans in Miami on Saturday night vociferously in support of de la Espriella and his unflinching law-and-order policies, POLITICO spoke to two experts on Colombian politics who say the episode reflects a broader pattern seen in populist movements, where patriotic imagery is deployed to blur the line between support for the nation and support for a political project.
“In my view, he was very deliberately politicizing the national team’s shirt,” Eduardo Gamarra, professor of politics and international relations at Florida International University, said. “The Colombian jersey is one of the few symbols that can still claim to belong to all Colombians, across region, class and ideology. That is precisely why it is attractive to a populist campaign: it allows a partisan political project to present itself as the nation itself.”
“This is not unique to Colombia. Populist politicians around the world routinely try to appropriate national symbols. In the United States, MAGA politics has turned the American flag and other patriotic symbols into markers of partisan identity. In Venezuela, Chavismo also understood the power of national colors, patriotic imagery and sporting symbols such as the Vinotinto [the national team],” Gamarra added. “De la Espriella’s use of the shirt was effective because it transformed the emotion around the national team into a signal of political belonging.”
“But to me the real surprise is not that de la Espriella tried to use the jersey, or even that it worked. The surprise is how ineffective opposition groups were in defending the shirt as a shared national symbol. They allowed a symbol that should belong to the whole country to be claimed by one political camp,” Gamarra said.
The jersey’s appeal, however, went beyond nationalism — helping to reinforce de la Espriella’s carefully crafted populist image ahead of the election final round that he won in mid-June.
“Abelardo de la Espriella used the national team’s shirt, traditionally a symbol of unity and celebration throughout the country, especially at the time of the World Cup, to associate his campaign with strong patriotism,” said Julian Gerez, assistant professor of criminology, law and society and political science at the University of California, Irvine. “But I think more importantly, it’s about de la Espriella’s own image: he is a multimillionaire lawyer but it is essential to his brand to appear as a man of the people. And as opposed to wearing a suit jacket or other formal attire, which is what might be expected, the jersey and hat play an important role in the way he portrays his image.”
“Ultimately, I think it was an effective tactic, but [leftist candidate] Ivan Cepeda’s campaign ironically made it more effective by coming out against its use, which led to greater awareness of the jersey as linked to de la Espriella’s campaign — and stronger defiance among his supporters in wearing the jersey,” Gerez added.
Politics
This week, members of the European Parliament issued two sharp rebukes of FIFA over its decision to allow Russians to participate in the U-15 World Cup in October and President Gianni Infantino’s relationship with U.S. leader Donald Trump.
In letters published Monday and Wednesday, 90 MEPs pressed FIFA over actions they said undermine the world football governing body’s political neutrality.
POLITICO sat down with the author of Wednesday’s letter, Lithuanian MEP Petras Auštrevičius from the liberal Renew group, to discuss how the European Parliament is taking a stand against FIFA.
FIFA did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Auštrevičius’ criticism.
The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Tell us why you wrote that letter condemning FIFA for allowing Russia to return to the U-15 World Cup.
The letter came as a reaction to FIFA’s decision to open up the gates for the Russian U-15 team for the World Cup in October. To my mind, it’s completely based on moral and political blindness. This period of time is absolutely wrong to send this kind of sport-based but politics-based signal to Russia. Imagine some national teams refusing to play against Russians will face disqualification, which is completely wrong and it will lead to unfair sport competitions. It’s not the first time FIFA disappoints sport supporters and the wider public in this regard.
Infantino said earlier this year that he opposes these kinds of bans, like the one that’s been in place for Russia, because they “create more hatred.” How do you respond?
I can imagine the Russian U-15 team is on the field, and there will be a lot of sports viewers and participants in that stadium. I don’t reject [the possibility of them protesting against] Russian players. I’m sorry for the Russian U-15 national team, but that’s absolutely understandable for me, the public reaction toward their country’s war of aggression against Ukraine.
Is the relationship between Infantino and Trump a cause for concern?
It’s a demonstration of political affiliations. FIFA is not any longer a neutral sports organization, I am sorry to say. As long as they play those appeasing games with high politicians around the world, it’s simply a disadvantage of FIFA rather than a strong point. We have to be concerned if that sport becomes rather political.
Lithuania is not in the World Cup, so who are you supporting?
Well, I’ve been supporting [the] Europeans. I’ve been a strong supporter of Germany — whew, disappointed. Disappointed.
But now I keep an eye on Spain.
Politics
DALLAS — Egyptian coach Hossam Hassan said he has no issue with the Dallas Police Department after an officer had a brief altercation with the coach’s brother, team manager Ibrahim Hassan.
“Incidents like that happen, of course,” Hassan said in a press conference after Egypt’s shootout victory over Australia. “We have nothing to follow up in that regard.”
The incident occurred at the team’s Dallas hotel late on Thursday. The police department said officers “responded to the Westin at the request of hotel security regarding an individual without event credentials attempting to gain access.”
The Hassan twins are both decorated former players for both club Al-Ahly and Egypt’s national team, for which they competed at the 1990 World Cup.
Egypt will play its next match in Atlanta.
Politics
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas has participated in three Super Bowl parades and one World Series parade celebrating his hometown Chiefs and Royals.
None compared to when Netherlands fans marched through downtown Kansas City, Missouri, ahead of their team’s June 25 game at Arrowhead Stadium.
“It is special and different,” Lucas said, with a politician’s reluctance to get on the wrong side of a beloved hometown team.
Kansas City will host its knockout round game Friday: a match between Colombia and Ghana. Lucas was instrumental in making it happen, a key player in Kansas City’s bid to bring the World Cup to Missouri. Now he is basking in the moment — dancing to “Links Recht” with the Dutch, waving around an Ecuadorian flag and dancing with Mexican fans.
Like nearly every host city, Kansas City faced criticism ahead of the games over the challenging logistics of herding thousands of fans to a stadium that’s used to tailgaters instead of international tourists, the sky-high price of tickets and underwhelming hotel bookings.
Those concerns appear to have dissipated with the arrival of thousands of fans, which brought forth a cultural exchange that inspired the University of Kansas marching band to memorize the Algerian national anthem; caused Boston cops to stand by as Scotsmen decorated the city’s statues with traffic cones; and left Frenchmen puzzled as to why “Go Birds” comes at the end of interactions in Philly.
“I think it’s a huge win for us,” Lucas said. “I know there’s some discourse and scuttlebutt on the wisdom or not of some American cities, and not applying to be World Cup host countries. I have never regretted it, and I certainly don’t regret it right now.”
Kansas City is the only Midwestern city to host games, after Chicago passed on making a bid. Lucas said the experience of serving as the representative for the middle of the country has allowed Kansas City to be “central diplomats” for the United States, welcoming in foreign fans with barbecue and block parties.
“Say what you will about what happens in corridors in Washington, Brussels or beyond,” Lucas said. “We’ve had the chance to share the best of America. And I think the best of America is its welcoming environment.”
Politics
NEW YORK — New York City has begun one of the busiest weekends in its history — Taylor Swift’s wedding celebration at Madison Square Garden today, a series of air, land and water celebrations for America’s 250th birthday tomorrow and a World Cup match in northern New Jersey on Sunday.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch and a top Coast Guard official outlined their weekend plans Tuesday by sharing heat advisories, noise warnings, road closures and security precautions for land, air and sea.
“We have a comprehensive security plan in place for each of these events to ensure that everyone can enjoy the festivities safely,” Mamdani said.
Mamdani and Tisch, standing side by side, said that there are no specific or credible threats against the city but that they’re operating in a “heightened threat environment.” The comments came shortly before a couple scaled the top of the Empire State Building and unfurled a banner.
Police will be out in force and on 12-hour shifts. They’ll be deploying bomb-sniffing dogs, conducting security screenings at designated viewing areas and continuing to use anti-drone technology, which has so far intercepted nearly 100 drones that have flown into restricted air space since the World Cup’s outset.
The NYPD expects to spend about $92 million in overtime and other expenses for major events this summer. During the press conference at police headquarters, Mamdani ducked a question about whether Swift should be picking up the security tab for her wedding. Tisch described it as “an event that we are tracking” and said the “NYPD will, of course, have a detail in place.” Swift canceled a series of concerts in Austria in 2024 because of a terrorist plot.
It will be unusually noisy. A naval review Saturday morning, which Vice President JD Vance is expected to attend, will include a series of warships that will each conduct a 21-gun salute. The Macy’s fireworks show will be the biggest ever, with 85,000 fireworks shells, Tisch said.
It will also be hot. Mamdani has separately announced a plan to help cope with record temperatures expected to hit the city in coming days — officials have warned it may feel as hot as 112 degrees. The city plans to open cooling shelters across the five boroughs, along with a first-ever fleet of vans to help people get to them.
The weekend will be capped by Sunday’s knockout match between Brazil and Norway at MetLife Stadium, although the attendant celebrations by the winning team’s fans will probably cross the Hudson River. Some may even try to row.
Politics
This world leader visited his team’s dressing room after an epic victory that helped send them to the elimination rounds.
That’s Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who paid the team a visit after their 6-0 win against Qatar in Vancouver on June 18. Canada plays Morocco in Houston on Saturday.
Politics
