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5 min readTrump Works the FIFA Refs
Donald Trump called FIFA president Gianni Infantino to intervene after U.S. star forward Folarin Balogun received a red card during a World Cup match against Bosnia and Herzegovina. The call worked: FIFA suspended the one-game suspension that normally follows a red card, allowing Balogun to play in the next match. Trump claimed he merely requested a review, insisting he "had nothing to do with the decision," but the sequence of events—combined with Infantino's history of awarding Trump the first-ever FIFA Peace Prize last December—made the fix feel familiar.
The red card itself was controversial. Many soccer analysts thought it should have been a yellow card at worst; Lionel Messi committed a similar foul in a different World Cup game and wasn't carded at all. What made Trump's involvement particularly head-spinning was that earlier reporting had suggested there was no mechanism to appeal the decision. Then suddenly the president's old buddy at FIFA made it go away. Andrew Giuliani, Rudy's son, was appointed to lead U.S. Soccer and had been talking to Trump several times a week about the tournament. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick sat next to Infantino at the game and reportedly offered White House lawyers to fight the suspension. The whole thing was a reminder that FIFA remains a deeply corrupt organization—one that in 2015 saw dozens of officia
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What you'll learn
- 1 (03:18) **Show Open & Headlines** - John Lovett teases the episode's topics: Trump's FIFA intervention, NATO summit, Democratic Senate primaries in Maine and Michigan, and conservative freakout over a patriotic speech.
- 2 (04:00) **Trump Intervenes in World Cup Red Card** - Trump calls FIFA president Infantino to review a red card against US player Flo Balogun, which is subsequently overturned.
- 3 (13:06) **NATO Summit Preview: Trump, Europe, and Ukraine** - Trump heads to Turkey for the annual summit, with tensions high over defense spending, the Iran war, and Ukraine.
- 4 (24:56) **Graham Platner Faces New, Serious Sexual Assault Allegations** - A Politico story details a woman's account of Platner forcing her to have sex, leading to a response video from Platner that signals a potential withdrawal.
- 5 (35:46) **Michigan Senate Primary: McMarrill Out, El-Sayed vs. Stevens** - Mallory McMarrill drops out, creating a two-way race between progressive Abdul El-Sayed and establishment-backed Haley Stevens.
- 6 (40:20) **Israel-Palestine as a Defining Issue for Democrats** - The conversation shifts to Israel as a "Rorschach test" for Democratic candidates, with the hosts analyzing the lack of a clear, progressive alternative to the current debate.
- 7 (51:51) **The Mystery of Mitch McConnell's Health** - The hosts speculate on rampant rumors, fueled by far-right sources, that McConnell is "brain dead" and being kept alive to prevent a special election.
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Guests on this episode
Show Notes
After FIFA unexpectedly overturns the red card handed to U.S. star Folarin Balogun, Donald Trump confirms that he personally called FIFA's president and asked him to "review" the penalty. Tommy and Lovett react to Trump's meddling and discuss how it mirrors his relationship with European powers as the president heads to Turkey for a NATO summit. Then, they check in on Democrats' attempts to take back the Senate — discussing terrible new allegations against Graham Platner and Mallory McMorrow's decision to drop out of the Michigan Senate race — before turning to the contrasting ways Zohran Mamdani and Trump supporters celebrated America's 250th in New York and Washington, DC.
For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected].
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