Donald Trump was completely ignored by USA captain Tim Ream during an awkward phone call with Mauricio Pochettino.
Donald Trump didn’t get the reaction he hoped for when he called the US Men’s National Soccer Team before their first World Cup game. After Mexico beat South Africa 2-0 and Canada tied with Bosnia and Herzegovina, the USA is the only host country yet to play their opening match.
The US team kicks off their World Cup run by hosting Paraguay at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles early Saturday morning. With games against Australia and Turkiye still to come, winning against Paraguay will be really important if the US wants to top Group D.
It was announced that President Trump wouldn’t be at the match since he stayed in Washington to get ready for another big sporting event happening this week. But that didn’t stop him from showing support—he called in to send a message before the game.
Things, however, didn’t go as smoothly as he probably wanted. After Andrew Giuliani, who leads the White House’s World Cup Task Force, handed the phone to coach Mauricio Pochettino and captain Tim Ream, the mood got a bit awkward.
Giuliani said, “I’m standing in front of 26 champions and a great coach… They’re ready to go and run through a wall,” before passing the phone to Pochettino.
Trump told Pochettino, “I just called to say you’re a fantastic guy, a fantastic coach. I think you’ve got a real good chance of going all the way.”
Pochettino laughed nervously and replied, “Thank you so much for your support, Mr. President. We’re going to do everything to make you proud and all the people here in this country.”
Meanwhile, Ream, sitting right next to Pochettino, stayed completely quiet and didn’t even acknowledge Trump.
Fans quickly noticed both reactions and shared their thoughts on social media. One wrote on X: “Poch looks nervous as hell (probably because he knows most players don’t want to hear from Trump) and Ream looks absolutely miserable. They couldn’t even show the other players. Love this team.”
Another said, “They don’t look excited to have him invading their moment with his phone call.” Someone else added, “Tim Ream doesn’t look like he approves of this tomfoolery.” And another fan demanded, “We need the player angle—I can only imagine how little they want to be there.”
While fans are focused on the US team’s first game, Trump stayed in Washington preparing for UFC Freedom 250, set for Sunday evening. To celebrate the US’s 250 years of independence and Trump’s 80th birthday, the UFC is hosting a special event on the White House South Lawn.
Because of his duties for the UFC event, Trump couldn’t make it to the soccer match on Saturday.