By John Q. Hosedrinker 
In a surprising turn of events, former President Donald Trump revealed that he was given the Club World Cup trophy by FIFA officials and that it currently resides in the Oval Office. Before the final match, Trump stated that FIFA decided to let him keep the original trophy, commissioning a new one for the champions, Chelsea. This meant Chelsea lifted a replica trophy despite their win over Paris Saint-Germain. Furthermore, Trump joked about potentially issuing an executive order to change the name of “soccer” to “football.”
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Trump kept FIFA Club World Cup trophy for himself – leaving Chelsea to lift a replica. Now, this is a story that really gets your attention, doesn’t it? Apparently, the former president has, shall we say, a habit of acquiring…things. And this time, it’s the FIFA Club World Cup trophy that’s in the spotlight. The reports suggest that Trump decided to keep the trophy for himself, leaving Chelsea FC, the actual winners, to celebrate with what sounds like a stand-in.
This whole thing is so very “on brand” for Trump, isn’t it? It’s hard to be surprised when the narrative revolves around him prioritizing his own aggrandizement. It reminds me of the stories about Putin and a Super Bowl ring. It’s the sort of thing you’d expect from someone who, shall we say, has a deeply ingrained sense of self-importance. The man seemingly doesn’t care about anyone but himself.
Here’s how the story goes. The FIFA President, Infantino, allegedly brought the trophy to the White House and asked Trump to keep it “for a little while”. Trump, apparently happy to oblige, even asked when they’d be picking it up. And then, as the story goes, Infantino declared that Trump could just keep it, because they’d, get this, made a new one. The trophy currently sits in the Oval Office. It’s almost comical, in a profoundly irritating sort of way. What a way to overshadow the achievement of the athletes on the field. Imagine the years of dedication, the grueling training, the pressure of the final, and then, your moment of glory is, well, overshadowed by a political figure apparently unable to resist claiming the spoils of victory for himself.
I have to wonder if this isn’t some kind of bizarre attempt at trolling. Imagine the sheer audacity of just taking it, of letting the world’s attention fall on you and your ego. Is he starting his “The Collector” supervillain phase?
It does make you wonder if the trophy he has is actually a legitimate one. I mean, the details of the events and the claims are, let’s say, somewhat flexible. It’s almost too absurd to be true, but knowing the subject, it wouldn’t exactly be a shock if it was.
There’s an element of “he can do what he wants” in this, too. When you’re rich and powerful, you seem to get away with a lot. I can easily see him claiming it as his own, telling stories about how he “earned” it, or that it was a gift, because he’s special.
It’s just a weird situation. Why this needed to happen in the first place, I have no idea. Are these people so incapable of acting like rational human beings that they couldn’t just correct things right then and there? Are they just cowards or stupid? I don’t get it.
Let’s be honest, it suits the whole situation. Chelsea were the champions and get the trophy on the field; the other guy gets to gloat with his version. It’s a pretty sad reflection of the whole thing. It really is just a perfect encapsulation of the man’s character.
Of course, this whole thing wouldn’t be complete without the parallels to Putin and the Super Bowl ring. It seems the “taking what isn’t yours” club has a very exclusive, and frankly, rather dubious, membership. Birds of a feather, as they say. It really does make you wonder about the entire situation.
There’s a lot of blame to go around. However, at the end of the day, Chelsea did win the tournament. It is a huge shame for them though. But, it is the perfect ending to a tournament that just wasn’t great from the beginning.
It’s easy to see why people might be pointing fingers at FIFA. But, it appears that they were the ones who gave him the trophy to hold. Then, the story suggests that FIFA then made a new trophy. The timing of this and the nature of the details really do seem to be what caused this all to happen. I wonder if this has anything to do with FIFA opening an office in Trump Tower?
This whole thing is, at the very least, a distraction. It distracts from the game itself, from the athletes, and it turns everything into a sideshow. It’s all just so dumb.
This whole situation really is emblematic of how the man operates. He seems to enjoy being in the spotlight, especially when he is involved with things that he had nothing to do with achieving. The Olympics are gonna be a mess.
I mean, the man even seemed to think he could change the name of the sport with an executive order! It’s crazy, honestly. He would just say it and then be done with it. It really does seem that this is just a story that the man told reporters, because he thought it sounded cool. It’s all just so petty.