Donald Trump’s very unusual behaviour at football game leaves people seriously divided

After handing the FIFA Club World Cup trophy to tournament victors Chelsea, US President Donald Trump's behaviour has been branded as both ‘iconic’ and ‘disrespectful’ by fans.

Enzo Maresca’s Blues put three goals past UEFA Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday (13 July) to clinch the 2025 Men’s FIFA Club World Cup title.

A brace from cool-as-you-like-it Cole Palmer, 23, and a 43rd-minute strike from Brazilian footballer João Pedro, 23, sealed the deal for the Pensioners at the MetLife Stadium, where famous faces like Tom Brady, Robbie Williams and singer Ciara were in attendance.

The Daily Mail reported that US President Trump, 79, arrived at the New Jersey stadium around 35 minutes before kick-off with his wife, First Lady Melania Trump, 55.

After watching the match from the stands with FIFA President Gianni Infantino, 55, the politician made his way down to the field to hand out victory medals to the sports stars.

After shaking hands with the likes of Marc Guiu, 19, and Levi Colwill, 22, Trump presented the Club World Cup trophy to team captain Reece James, 25, before being invited to move aside by Infantino.

However, the Republican seemingly ignored the football president, electing instead to remain alongside James and Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sánchez, 27, during the trophy hoist.

In viral footage shared across social media, Palmer - recipient of the tournament’s Golden Ball - could be seen asking his teammates, ‘What is he doing?’ in relation to Trump’s continued podium presence.

Realising the businessman was going nowhere, Chelsea continued to celebrate their victory with James hoisting the gong above his head.

Football fans have been having their say about Trump’s desire to be front and centre at the FIFA Club World Cup, with one X user commenting: “Love him or hate him, this is legendary.”

A second reported: “There has never been a President like Trump that loves people and loves being with them. This is an iconic moment.”

Someone else echoed: “I'm English and I'm definitely not a fan of Trump at all, but being a Chelsea fan, I loved it why not? Let him, he certainly looked like he was enjoying himself and my attitude towards him softened a little.”

However, a plethora of viewers have taken issue with the 47th US president not allowing Chelsea the spotlight, with one claiming his podium appearance was ‘disrespectful’.

Another said: “This why American should not talk football. This isn’t legendary it’s embarrassing and annoying.”

A third typed: “Main character syndrome.”

Meanwhile, another remarked: “Complete narcissist - this is embarrassing.”

Palmer has since discussed Trump’s presence during the Club World Cup final. The BBC reported that the ex-Manchester City star ‘knew’ the father-of-five would be there.

“But I didn't know he was going to be on the stand when we lifted the trophy,” Palmer said. “I was a bit confused, yes.”

England international James also broached the topic, telling the outlet: “They told me that he was going to present the trophy and then exit the stage, and I thought that he was going to exit the stage, but he wanted to stay.

“He just congratulated me and the team for lifting the trophy and told us to enjoy the moment.”

During a half-time interview, Trump told broadcaster DAZN that he was having a ‘really great time’ watching the game alongside the crowd in New Jersey.

“Gianni is a friend of mine, he's done such a great job with the league and with soccer - or as they would call it 'football', but I guess we call it soccer,” he said in another interview.

“But I'm not sure that change could be made very easily. But it's great to watch - and this is a little bit of an upset that we're watching today, isn't it? So far. It's incredible.”

When asked if he could sign an Executive Order to rename the sport, Trump added: “I think we could do that. I think I could do that.”

The FIFA Club World Cup has acted as a taster for what fans can expect from the United States during the upcoming 2026 Men’s FIFA World Cup.

The tournament is being jointly hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico next summer and will see 48 teams contesting for the top prize for the first time in its history.

As host nations, the United States, Canada and Mexico have automatically qualified.

They will be joined in the Group Stage by teams like Japan, South Korea and Iran - all of which achieved qualification earlier this year.

No UEFA countries have qualified for the 2026 tournament yet, with England’s qualifying campaign kicking off earlier this year.

At the time of writing, the Three Lions maintain a 100 percent win record in World Cup qualifying Group K with five games left to play.