“I don’t want to do this”
Threat against venues: Trump rows back
December 5, 2025 – 6:44 p.mReading time: 1 min.
The head of the US government had discussed taking over the World Cup games from democratically run venues in his country. But now the 79-year-old is adopting a different tone.
US President Donald Trump backed away from his threat to withdraw World Cup games from democratically run cities immediately before the draw. “No, I don’t want to do that.” If there is actually a problem, it will be solved, said Trump at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington. “I’ve proven this in Washington DC and everywhere else we’ve been, so we’ll get a handle on this quite easily.”
In the presence of the head of the world association, Gianni Infantino, Trump flirted with exactly this in November and particularly targeted Los Angeles and Seattle. He had announced that he would ban games from being held in US cities if they did not adhere to the safety rules he had prescribed. Infantino would make such a historic venue swap for him, he assured.
Trump, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum came to the American capital especially for the gala. The US President was seen at Infantino’s side on the red carpet.
In addition to the political leaders, a number of sports celebrities also appeared at the event. These included not only the coaches of the qualified nations and numerous former footballers, but also athletes from other sports popular in America.
Former football star Tom Brady, Canada’s ice hockey legend Wayne Gretzky, basketball hero Shaquille O’Neal and the still active baseball professional Aaron Judge are supposed to draw the lots.