Partially False: Trump Didn't 'Secure' the 2026 World Cup — FIFA's Member Nations Did

The claim is that President Trump personally secured the 2026 FIFA World Cup for North America during his first term. The truth is more complicated: the award happened on his watch, but he didn't win it — FIFA did the deciding, and soccer officials did the work.

On June 13, 2018, FIFA's 68th Congress in Moscow voted 134 to 65 to award the 2026 World Cup to the joint United 2026 bid from the USA, Canada, and Mexico, according to FIFA's official announcement. That's a decisive win, but the voters were FIFA's member associations — not any government, and certainly not one leader.

The bid itself was built and led by U.S. Soccer, Canada Soccer, and the Mexican Football Federation, according to the U.S. Soccer Federation. The formal bid was submitted in 2017, but the groundwork was laid years before Trump took office. His administration contributed a letter of support, and Trump recorded a video endorsement — that's the extent of his direct involvement.

If anything, Trump's policies created headwinds, not tailwinds. Reuters reported that his travel bans and anti-immigration rhetoric raised serious concerns among FIFA voters about whether players and fans from certain countries would be able to get visas to enter the United States. The bid committee had to provide explicit government assurances on visa access to keep the bid on track. The Guardian confirmed that the award was a FIFA decision, not a political one.

This kind of claim spreads because timing gets mistaken for causation. A major win happened while Trump was president, so supporters naturally credit him. But being in office when something good happens is not the same as making it happen — especially when the actual decision-makers were an international sports body and three independent soccer federations.