Sports Fans Convinced There’s a ‘Trump Curse’ After USMNT World Cup Ouster

President Donald Trump speaks alongside the FIFA World Cup Winners Trophy in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

President Donald Trump‘s intervention in the World Cup — coupled with the U.S. Men’s National Team’s elimination from the tournament — has convinced sports fans the commander in chief is nothing but a jinx.

The phrase “Trump curse” flooded social media Tuesday after the USMNT was booted from the tournament by Belgium in a humiliating 4-1 loss in Seattle.

The loss came after Trump openly bragged about calling FIFA President Gianni Infantino in an ultimately successful bid to overturn a red card that would have kept USMNT striker Folarin Balogun out of the Round of 16.

The Belgium team even trolled the US by doing the “Trump dance” on the pitch after the contest.

“Maybe Trump can call FIFA and ask them to find four more goals,” one X user quipped.

The USMNT loss came just a month after Trump made the trip to Madison Square Garden to see the New York Knicks in Game 3 of the NBA Finals, the team’s lone playoff loss.

The presence of the president in New York City sparked massive security protocols, shut down streets in busy Midtown, and canceled a planned watch party.

He was then accused of falling asleep during the game. The Knicks ended up falling to the San Antonio Spurs 115-111, snapping a 13-game, 46-day winning streak.

Merciless social media users, including attorney and frequent Trump critic Ron Filipkowski, were quick to blame Trump for the United States’ defeat.

Others were more direct:

“He attended one Knicks game and they ended up losing their historic 13-win playoff streak. he calls FIFA to overturn Balogun’s one-game ban and team USA still loses and gets eliminated. i’m telling y’all the trump curse is REAL!!!” another X fan wrote.

“Trump stuck his nose in where it didn’t belong. It made the world hate us even more than they already do, and emboldened Belgium. I wish the US had won and I have to wonder if we would have, if Trump had not interfered. ETTD: Everything Trump touches dies,” another wrote.

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