This host-city honcho has been ubiquitous through the World Cup. Before the tournament began, he appeared with a member of his national team’s squad to announce that his city had partnered with FIFA to give away a limited number of $50 match tickets to local residents.
That’s New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani at a May 21 press conference with U.S. national team player Tim Weah, who has become a favorite of politicians on the American left.
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LOS ANGELES — Despite months of controversy beforehand, Friday’s encounter in Seattle did not turn out to be much of a “Pride Match” at all. Expressions of sexual and gender identity were sparse in the crowd, perhaps due to the random lottery pairing of Iran and Egypt, which have two of the world’s least hospitable societies and most repressive governments towards LGBT people.
Chance has produced a political pairing today that has a much stronger political claim to a “Pride Match” designation: the opening round-of-32 fixture in Los Angeles this afternoon. Canada and South Africa will meet because of the tournament’s bracket architecture, but they are parallel pioneers in gay and lesbian rights — the first two non-European countries to legalize same-sex marriage.
Canada got there first. Courts in its most populous provinces began to rule in 2003 that restricting marriage to opposite-sex couples violated the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, making it possible for gay men and lesbians to marry in much of the country. In 2005, the Liberal Party government led by Prime Minister Paul Martin introduced the Civil Marriage Act, creating a single legal standard for all provinces and territories. It passed a parliamentary vote on July 19, 2005, and became law the next day — placing Canada alongside the Netherlands, Belgium and Spain as the only countries that allowed same-sex marriage nationwide.
South Africa joined them the following year. In December 2005, the Constitutional Court of South Africa ruled that the common-law definition of marriage violated the equal-protection promises of the country’s post-apartheid constitution, which specifically protect people from discrimination on the basis of “sexual orientation.” After the court essentially ordered Parliament to rewrite the law, lawmakers drafted the Civil Union Act, which passed and became law on November 30, 2006.
Now more than three dozen countries allow same-sex unions, including the World Cup’s three North American co-hosts and all of the tournament favorites including Argentina, France, Brazil, Germany, Portugal and England (which along with Wales legalized them in 2014). South Africa, however, remains the only country in Africa.
Canada and South Africa have different constitutional regimes and cultural traditions, but one person links their shared arc as pioneers in LGBTQ+ rights: Montreal human-rights attorney Irwin Cotler, who served on Nelson Mandela’s legal team before becoming Canada’s justice minister. In that role, he was the driving force with Martin’s government to codify same-sex unions through the Civil Marriage Act.
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LOS ANGELES — President Donald Trump has stayed away from the World Cup after making himself the main character of the months leading up to it. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum prominently gave away her tickets to Mexico’s matches in what was seen as a populist rebuke to FIFA.
But one North American leader is reveling in the fact that his country is hosting the world’s top sporting event, and that its national team is doing well.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney attended two of Canada’s group-stage matches, a visible
and gave a locker-room talk to the team after its defeat of Qatar that spread widely on social media. Carney has been such an omnipresent component of his team’s group-stage run that its one defeat, against Switzerland, has been blamed on the “Carney Curse” because the prime minister briefly stepped away from his seat when a crucial goal was scored.
Carney has not said whether he is traveling to Los Angeles for today’s knockout fixture against South Africa, but he did use the match-up as an occasion to call President Cyril Ramaphosa, where the two men discussed “growing cooperation in agriculture and agrifood,” according to a readout provided by the prime minister’s office.
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World Cup planners have long expected President Donald Trump will come to one or more matches. Now we know, thanks to FIFA head Gianni Infantino, that Trump will be at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey to hand out the gold trophy after the final match concludes.
The July 19 event will be one more test of the region’s security and transportation apparatus, one that is in the middle of a long summer, including Trump’s early trip to New York earlier that month for a parade of warships.
From a logistical perspective, said Alex Lasry of the bistate New York/New Jersey host committee, the final is “its own animal,” with its own set of transportation and security worries.
At least one part of the animal will be familiar to local organizers: Trump’s presence. The president regularly returns to his native New York City and his Bedminster golf club in New Jersey. He was at MetLife last year to hand out the Club World Cup trophy alongside Infantino.
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Republicans are betting their path to victory in 2026 runs through MAGA. Democrats are still figuring out how to win.
Two-thirds of the way through primary season, results from dozens of hotly contested battlegrounds across the country reveal a Republican Party that remains fully captured by President Donald Trump, even in swing districts that have at times rejected his brand, and a Democratic Party that is still consumed by factional infighting over how to win.
The implications are huge: If Republicans can win even competitive seats with MAGA candidates, that can further entrench the populist far right’s hold on the party. But if they suffer sweeping losses, that could bolster the more moderate GOP wing’s push for a return to power.
Democrats, meanwhile, will have plenty to study in November as they search for clues to winning back the White House in 2028. They’ve nominated an array of candidates, from far-left progressives to traditional centrists.
“The proof is going to be in the pudding,” said Larry Ceisler, a Democratic-aligned Pennsylvania-based public affairs executive. “Can these people win competitive general elections? And that’s going to be a lesson that’s going to go into ‘28.”
Republican voters have rallied behind candidates who closely align themselves with Trump and the MAGA brand, from Rep. Mike Collins and billionaire Rick Jackson in Georgia, to Bobby Charles and Marty O’Donnell in Nevada’s 3rd District. Trump-endorsed candidates have largely won their primaries this year, with a few high-profile exceptions in Iowa, Georgia and South Carolina, where Trump ended up endorsing both Republicans in the gubernatorial runoff at the last minute.
Democrats are being pulled by competing visions for their party’s future. For Texas Senate, Democrats chose buttoned-up James Talarico, but for Maine Senate they picked scandal-plagued Graham Platner. For New York’s 17th District on Tuesday, Democrats nominated no-nonsense and establishment-aligned veteran Cait Conley, but in California’s 22nd District, voters bucked party leadership and chose a firebrand progressive in Randy Villegas.
The results could turn Trump into a lame duck the last two years of his term, test the power of his brand a decade after he first ascended, and set in motion the direction of both parties ahead of the next presidential election.
The question of whether MAGA can win in battlegrounds has dogged the GOP in recent years, with loyalists like Kari Lake losing key races in 2022 and down-ballot Republicans trailing Trump in 2024.
They’re not changing tack.
Even as the president’s popularity sags, driven by dissatisfaction with the economy, his aggressive deportations and an unpopular war in Iran, the Republican base voters who drive the primaries are continuing to nominate MAGA candidates, not moderates.
That bucks conventional wisdom, which holds that a general election victory, especially in competitive races, requires assembling a broader coalition — one where Trump’s endorsement may not always help. A recent POLITICO Poll found that receiving Trump’s backing provoked a stronger negative reaction from voters who are opposed to the president than a positive one from those who support him, making it a net negative for a hypothetical candidate.
That is a dynamic Republican candidates will need to navigate in the months ahead — a particularly delicate balancing act for those who embraced the president’s agenda during the primary, but now must try to win over a more diverse segment of the electorate.
In Georgia, the Trump-backed Collins prevailed in last week’s GOP Senate runoff after leaning into his MAGA credentials. Now, he transitions to a match-up against incumbent Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff, where appealing to a broader coalition of voters could prove equally as important as energizing the Republican base.
MAGA-aligned candidates also triumphed in Maine, with Charles gunning for the governor’s mansion and former Republican Gov. Paul LePage seeking to flip moderate Democrat Rep. Jared Golden’s now-open House seat. And in Nevada’s 2nd District, Trump-endorsed McDonnell, who just recently came under fire for hosting a Nazi on his podcast, is trying to pick off Democratic Rep. Susie Lee — one of the Republican Party’s top targets.
Even candidates who didn’t gain the president’s endorsement have ridden his brand to victory. Jackson won the GOP nomination for Georgia governor over a Trump-backed candidate, vowing to be “Trump’s favorite governor” and touting his support for the president’s agenda.
Still, Jason Roe, a Michigan-based GOP strategist, said MAGA is “baked into the Republican brand at this point,” so there’s “very little risk” for candidates to embrace Trump during a primary before pivoting to the general election.
Democrats have one point of unity: They’re messaging against the party in power.
Most of their candidates push back against Trump and argue they would do a far better job addressing the nation’s cost of living, repeatedly the top issue for voters, than Republicans have.
But the party’s clashes over identity and charged issues like Israel and the war in Gaza have been on full display across some of the most-high profile matchups.
Voters “are looking for, ‘Hey, who is the right candidate that can actually win and represent me best in where I live?’” said Andres Ramirez, a Nevada-based Democratic consultant. “Where progressives can do well, they’re going to do well, where moderates can do well, they’re going to do well, and the full spectrum in between.”
Progressives have seen a slate of victories, including Villegas in California’s 22nd District and Matt Dunlap in Maine’s 2nd District. And Platner, despite being mired in controversy, crushed Maine Gov. Janet Mills even before the primary officially took place. All three defeated establishment choices backed by Democrats’ official campaign arms, a sign the party lacks the kind of total control that Trump enjoys over the GOP.
But moderates haven’t been far behind, with veterans like Conley winning in New York and Rebecca Bennett in New Jersey’s 7th District. In some of this year’s top battlegrounds, establishment-backed candidates have advanced, including Aaron Ford in Nevada and Josh Turek in Iowa.
Then there’s the faceoff next week in Colorado between Manny Rutinel, a progressive, and establishment-backed Shannon Bird and the brutal showdown later this summer in Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary, where progressive Abdul El-Sayed is leading two more moderate challengers, Rep. Haley Stevens and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow.
The midterms will help give the party clues about what kind of Democrats are best poised to win ahead of 2028 — but it has also turbocharged an ideological civil war between the different wings of the party, especially as progressives have gained ground in both deep-blue and battleground districts.
Jesse Ferguson, a longtime Democratic strategist, said that in some of the nation’s swingiest districts, “the most electable candidates” are largely prevailing.
“There will be lots of debate about winning primaries in places like NYC and what that means for 2028, but the most important races — the ones in the swing districts — are being won by the candidates who give us the best chance to win the majority in 2026,” said Ferguson. “That’s what matters.”
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ARLINGTON, Texas — Jordan’s final World Cup match against Argentina gave its fans a chance to show their national colors one last time on the international stage. And, as they have throughout the tournament, many of them also used the opportunity to show support for Palestine.
Lots of Jordanians have roots in Palestine, and they brought those loyalties with them. Many people in the crowd wore black-and-white checked keffiyehs that are a symbol of Palestinian roots.
“Our Palestinian brothers and sisters are never far from our thoughts,” said Issah Essoh, a 32-year-old software consultant from Jordan who lives in Houston, said as fans filed into their seats.
Mohammed Abu Arayes, 37, who was visiting from Riyadh with his family for the match, is of Jordanian and Palestinian heritage. He was decked out in Jordanian colors and his wife sported a t-shirt emblazoned with “Palestine.”
He’s been happy with the reception, even amid a sea of Argentina fans sporting blue-and-white jerseys. “The Argentine people have been very welcoming,” Abu Arayes said.
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Rep. Julia Letlow clinched the Louisiana GOP Senate nomination on Saturday, riding her endorsement from President Donald Trump to defeat state Treasurer John Fleming in a contentious runoff that became a referendum on MAGA credentials.
She will likely succeed ousted Sen. Bill Cassidy, who was ostracized by MAGA over his impeachment vote against Trump and finished in third in the first round of voting in May. His failure to qualify for the runoff marked a rare primary defeat for a Senate incumbent.
Letlow built on her first-place finish in the May primary, overcoming the self-funding Fleming, who made the race competitive by touting his conservative bona fides and bear-hugging the president. Along with Trump’s endorsement, she also was lifted by backing from Gov. Jeff Landry and other prominent Louisiana Republicans, like House Majority Leader Steve Scalise.
In deep-red Louisiana, Letlow will almost certainly win the seat in November.
Landry served as Letlow’s most vocal surrogate, dispatching his own staff to her campaign and pressuring donors to open their wallets. Helping Letlow earn a Senate seat gives him another ally in Washington and puts him on solid footing in the face of a potential primary opponent when he’s up for reelection next year.
Letlow, a disciplined messenger and reliable Republican vote in the House, also earned the support of Louisiana business leaders and posted solid fundraising numbers in the race.
It’s also another endorsement badge for Trump, who has been largely successful at picking winners this primary season, with some notable recent exceptions, like Rick Jackson’s win in Georgia and Zach Lahn’s win in Iowa.
Letlow survived attacks by her opponents that she was insufficiently conservative; both Fleming and Cassidy assailed her for comments she made in a 2020 video showing her speaking in support of diversity initiatives when she was interviewing for a job as president of the University of Louisiana at Monroe. Letlow has since disavowed those programs.
She became the first Republican woman to represent Louisiana in the House when she won a special election in March 2021 to fill the seat of her deceased husband, who died from Covid in December 2020 shortly before he was supposed to take office. She jumped into the Senate race to challenge Cassidy with Trump’s endorsement.
A former House Freedom Caucus founder, Fleming also served in several roles in the White House during Trump’s first term. He also ran as a Trump ally, despite not earning the president’s endorsement.
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Pols around the country have been flocking to be seen at World Cup matches — who among the office-holding class doesn’t want to be seen at the world’s biggest street party and sports tournament?
But one place where the optics haven’t worked well has been Dallas — which is the host city (sort of) for nine matches. Mayor Eric Johnson (R) was booed when he showed up at a Fan Fest event earlier this month, according to reporting by D Magazine and other local news outlets.
And the Dallas City Council earned some criticism when several of its members skipped out on a budget session to attend the June 17 match between Croatia and England. The meeting — which was supposed to include a discussion of the city’s looming budget shortfall — was cut short for lack of a quorum. Oh, and taxpayers paid for their transportation, according to the Dallas Morning News.
A city spokesperson didn’t respond to a request for comment Friday.
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Secretary of State Marco Rubio is sitting next to FIFA President Gianni Infantino at Miami Stadium for the Colombia vs. Portugal game tonight. On Infantino’s other side: FBI Director Kash Patel. They’re here for the most hotly anticipated match of the group stage.
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Aging stars like Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Harry Kane may still fill stadiums just by showing up, but their teams’ results are only as good as their on-field chemistry and coaching. The squad that best illustrated that principle over soccer’s long history is the one that first convinced President Donald Trump that the sport was worth a look.
In the 1970s, the moribund New York Cosmos, part of the North American Soccer League, convinced the Brazilian soccer icon Pelé to come play for them. He was followed quickly by stars like Giorgio Chinaglia, Franz Beckenbauer and Carlos Alberto.
The stars, along with a sharp public relations push from club owner Warner Communications, transformed the team, the league and the arc of American soccer.
“Without the Cosmos and their panache, we wouldn’t have been in a position to bid for and get 1994,” said Jim Trecker, who served as public relations guru of both the Cosmos and that year’s World Cup, the first in the United States.
The team went from playing in a sparsely attended stadium on Randall’s Island to the very same Meadowlands where England and Panama played today. The Cosmos regularly drew over 50,000 fans, including Mick Jagger, Cher and Henry Kissinger.
“The one and only time I met Kissinger, he shoved me into Pelé’s lap,” David Hirshey, who covered the team for the New York Daily News, told POLITICO.
The Cosmos also convinced a young Trump, who at least once partied with Pelé at Studio 54, that soccer was worth watching. When asked about Trump’s Cosmos experience, the White House referred POLITICO to his family business, the Trump Organization, which did not respond to a request for comment. Multiple times, though, Trump has cited Pelé and the Cosmos as an inspiration for his own interest in the sport.
“Many years ago, I remember watching Pelé on a team called the Cosmos,” Trump said at the World Cup’s lottery draw in December. “I assume he is one of the greats. I said, ‘That man can play!’”
At the same event, the president seemed somewhat forlorn that the promise of the Cosmos didn’t manifest in the explosion of successful soccer across the country.
“For years, they thought soccer would be so big and big fast,” he said.
At the height of the Cosmos’ glory, Trump was a young, up-and-coming real estate scion with big dreams of filling the same rooms as New York’s most famous characters — even though he may have viewed them only from afar.
“I never saw Trump in the locker room,” said Hirshey. “You would think that’s where he would want to be.”
Read Calder’s POLITICO Magazine story about the Trump and the Cosmos here.
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