U.S. President Donald Trump joined Chelsea on stage Sunday night as the team celebrated a stunning 3-0 victory over Paris Saint-Germain to win the FIFA Club World Cup at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
With Trump watching from the stands, Cole Palmer delivered a standout performance, scoring twice and assisting another, as the underdog Blues dismantled the Champions League holders in front of a crowd of 81,118.
After the final whistle, Trump appeared alongside FIFA President Gianni Infantino for the trophy presentation, drawing some boos from sections of the crowd. He handed the trophy to Chelsea captain Reece James, then lingered on stage despite Infantino’s apparent gesture for him to step aside.
Unfazed, Trump remained in position as James hoisted the trophy and the team launched into their celebrations under a cascade of fireworks and confetti.
“They told me that he was going to present the trophy and then exit the stage, and I thought that he was going to exit the stage, but he wanted to stay,” James said afterward.
Asked what Trump said to him, James added, “To be honest it was quite loud. I couldn’t hear too much. He just congratulated me and the team for lifting the trophy and told us to enjoy the moment.”
Match-winner Palmer appeared bemused by the moment.
“I knew he was going to be here, but I didn’t know he was going to be on the stand when we lifted the trophy,” Palmer said. “I was a bit confused, yes.”
Palmer scored two first-half goals and set up Joao Pedro for the third, as Chelsea defied the odds in New Jersey to stun the reigning European champions.
Chelsea’s victory capped FIFA’s newly expanded 32-team tournament and earned the Premier League side a prize of more than 90 million pounds (about $121 million).
Trump said he enjoyed the occasion, telling broadcaster DAZN at halftime, “I am having a really great time. Tremendous sport.”
In a longer interview broadcast after the match, Trump revealed that his favorite player of all time is Pele and offered praise for the tournament.
“It’s a big thing,” he said. “Gianni is a friend of mine. He’s done such a great job with the league and with soccer – or as they would call it, ‘football,’ but I guess we call it soccer. But I’m sure that change could be made very easily.
“But it’s great to watch – and this is a little bit of an upset that we’re watching today, isn’t it? So far. It’s incredible.”
When asked if he would consider issuing an executive order to rename the sport “football,” Trump replied with a smile, “I think we could do that. I think I could do that.”
Trump was also asked whether he sees a future in which the U.S., set to co-host the men’s World Cup with Canada and Mexico next summer, could dominate in football.
“I can tell you we’re doing very well on the other stage – on the political stage, on the final stage,” he said. “We were doing very badly as a country. We had an incompetent administration, and now we have a hot country. It’s really hot, and I think the soccer is going to be very hot here too.”
