Trump's Full Speech (Part 2): I Appealed for Balogun, Infantino Made a Great Decision

On July 18 (Beijing time), US President Trump held a reception at the White House to welcome FIFA President Gianni Infantino and representatives from the football community. In their speeches, both sides praised the 2026 FIFA World Cup hosted by the US, Canada, and Mexico, noting that it has set new records for live attendance, global viewership, and cultural impact. They also looked forward to the third-place playoff between England and France, as well as the final between Argentina and Spain. The following is the second part of Trump's reception speech.

Full text of Trump's speech

【Full text of Trump's speech (Part 1): Messi and Ronaldo are gifted, Infantino is a genius】

"This has truly been a unique FIFA World Cup, full of fierce competition and countless unforgettable moments. The most memorable for me was probably when the referee showed a red card to a certain player. I even felt like calling Gianni to offer a suggestion. I said: 'Gianni, I have a suggestion—let that guy stay on the field.' No, I didn't actually say that. What I said was: 'I want to appeal.' In fact, I didn't know what would happen next, but it turned out everything went smoothly, which was for the best, because then there was no controversy. They won the game, and our team stayed intact. If you think about it, Gianni made another great decision, and I know he'll never take credit for it. But imagine if he hadn't allowed it—people would say: 'If we had our best player on the field, we would have won.' So Gianni made the right choice once again."

"It truly is the biggest event in the world, like many Super Bowls happening simultaneously. Bob, every stadium was packed, the fans were enthusiastic, and fans from 200 countries watched 104 matches across 16 North American cities. I saw many wonderful scenes. My mother is from Scotland, my father is from Germany. When I saw Scottish bagpipes and Scottish fans celebrating in the streets of Boston, it was absolutely amazing. Many people from various countries didn't know what to expect before coming here, but now they all love America. In fact, many of those who have visited will come again, and some may even plan to stay long-term—they love America so much."

"We are currently in America's golden age, developing better than ever before. We have $19.2 trillion in domestic investment, more than any country has ever experienced, and factories are springing up all over the country. I am proud to report that this FIFA World Cup attracted over 6.5 million live spectators, making it the highest-attended sporting event in history. This record might be broken in the future—I don't know where you're going next. Can you tell me? If you can do better, I'll let you know. But this is indeed a difficult number to surpass. That's why Gianni, being competitive, wants to continue increasing the number of participating teams. He feels that by expanding the tournament, he might be able to break this record. The total viewership of this FIFA World Cup has already exceeded the combined total of the previous two FIFA World Cups, and together we have accomplished this grand event perfectly."

"I don't want to talk about how great it is right now, because there are still two games to play. We'll assess everything on Sunday night. But everything has gone extremely well, everyone's morale is very high, and law enforcement has been excellent. However, they didn't have to work too hard, because the atmosphere was so good and there were no conflicts. So this is all wonderful—let's look forward to a perfect conclusion on Sunday night."

"When the final whistle blows on Sunday, nearly 6 billion viewers worldwide will have watched this FIFA World Cup, which is a new historical record, multiplied many times over. Without a doubt, the FIFA World Cup has cultivated millions of new fans in a country not traditionally known as a football hotbed. Football was already gaining momentum before this, and this will have a profound impact."

"From my first day in office in 2025, we have worked closely with FIFA to ensure the complete success of this event. We have excellent staff. Andrew Giuliani, thank you very much—you've done a great job. You really worked hard. Thank you, well done. To give everyone an intuitive idea of our preparations, the logistical effort for this record-breaking FIFA World Cup was equivalent to holding 78 NFL Super Bowls in less than two months."

"We mobilized resources from over 50 federal departments and agencies, deploying all branches of federal law enforcement to ensure the safety, security, and success of the games, and they performed exceptionally well. The State Department expedited thousands of visas for FIFA World Cup ticket holders. We invested over $1.2 billion in security and transportation operations, and Secretary Marco Rubio demonstrated extraordinary leadership. Gianni even wanted more funds earlier, and I said: 'Gianni, can we calm down a bit first? $1.2 billion for transporting spectators is already great.' Here, I want to thank the White House FIFA Task Force—they were fantastic."

"Hosting distinguished guests from around the world is also an extremely special tribute to the 250th anniversary of America's founding and celebration of freedom. Tens of thousands of international friends joined us, and we had the best July 4th Independence Day weekend in history, and your presence made it even more brilliant. I don't know if you intentionally timed it this way, but the effect was indeed perfect. Despite heavy rain and lightning that night, and the crowd being forced to evacuate at one point, 450,000 people still came to celebrate. I said then: 'Even if it's until 2 AM, the event must continue.' We called everyone back, and 150,000 people still stood in the rain late into the night, some of whom were even preparing to drive back to Texas and Oklahoma. Some suggested rescheduling, perhaps postponing it by a week or two. I said no—some special moments cannot be replicated."

"From the Scottish fans who occupied the streets of Boston last month to the Argentine supporters who cheered wildly for Messi in Kansas City—by the way, Messi was incredible; he scored a hat-trick in Kansas City, which is very rare in your sport, right? To our first ally France, who won their game on July 4th in Philadelphia—what a great game that was. That's how it is in the world of sports. They seemed invincible before, but in the end they couldn't defeat Spain. France was a strong favorite to win, having progressed smoothly until then, but some things just happen suddenly. That's sports, and life is the same. You might be hot one moment and cold the next. Although I haven't experienced such ups and downs myself (laughs), it's true in life—you always have to learn to bounce back and never give up."

"Sharing our magnificent country with the world is the greatest honor for the American people. Today, America is stronger, more prosperous, and more admired than ever before. And you are an important part of it."

"I want to thank Gianni again and all the excellent staff at FIFA. I've had the pleasure of meeting many of them during this time, and I'll meet more on Sunday. At the same time, I want to congratulate every participating team. You collectively created what can be described as the greatest event in the history of world sports. I think it has gone far beyond the scope of a sporting event, becoming something very, very special."

"Finally, good luck to Spain and Argentina in the final on Sunday—may the best team win. Now, it is my great honor to introduce a talented artist to you. As I said before, Luciano Pavarotti was a good friend of mine and a great singer. And I can barely tell the difference between the person on stage and him. The only one who insists he's not as good as Pavarotti is Christopher Marchew himself. He says Pavarotti is an irreplaceable master. But Christopher Marchew is also a highly respected and exceptionally talented genius in the opera world, and you are about to hear his stunning voice."

"Thank you all again. Gianni, congratulations on creating perhaps the most successful event ever. Thank you!"

AF's PC site is now live! Browse full news, comments, match details and stats on your computer. Visit: www.allfootballapp.com