The World Cup Shows What’s Great About America
Even if the so-called "Pro-America" crowd hates it
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Have you been watching the World Cup? I have. And it has been a genuinely moving experience. And while I have marveled at the welcome Americans have shown and the way our friends from around the world have reciprocated, I can’t help but shake the feeling that the world’s biggest sporting event is the biggest advertisement for the very values the Trump Administration opposes.
Sure, the “pro-America” crowd beats its chest to support our team. But it sure hates all the best things about the World Cup – and America.
Let’s start with an easy one. The U.S. team is off to a strong start, but it’s made up of folks this administration attacks. Six players were born elsewhere, and more than half are dual citizens. Folarin Balogun, who led us to a 4–1 victory over Paraguay, is a birthright citizen—but wouldn’t be if the president was able to rewrite history to change our immigration laws.
Thankfully, the rest of the world is seeing what really makes America great. From Scotland to Paraguay, visitors have come here to watch the games—and they love it. They’ve received a warm welcome, amazed by the friendliness that’s part of our DNA.
They’ve eaten our barbecue, marveled at our stadiums, discovered Buc-ee’s, and sat in air-conditioned sports bars. They’re going home and telling their families that Americans are kind. That this country is welcoming. That it’s not the place they see on TV.
President Trump has spent years telling the world that America is closed and other countries don’t matter. The American people spent this summer proving him wrong.
The World Cup celebrates diversity and achievement from every corner of the globe. Players of every ethnicity compete to win for their home countries. It’s about patriotism and pride. The games don’t discriminate among nations. Large or small. Rich or poor. European or Latin American.
Case in point: Cape Verde, a tiny island nation off Africa with fewer people than Wyoming, held Spain to a draw, becoming the smallest nation ever to reach the knockout round. The president has called places like Cape Verde “shithole countries” and even imposed a $15,000 visa bond requirement on Cape Verde citizens.
As a direct result, the mother of Cape Verde’s star goalkeeper Vozinha — the man who just made seven saves to hold Spain to a draw — could not afford to get a visa to watch her son play in the World Cup on American soil. Hakeem Jeffries had to personally call Marco Rubio to intervene and get her a visa in time for the next match.
You know who else is here? France. Germany. England. The backbone of NATO. You know, the alliance President Trump has spent a decade trying to destroy.
Central and Latin America are here too, with star teams like Argentina, Brazil, and Colombia. While they display incredible sportsmanship, the administration is gearing up to deport more people from there, including those with Temporary Protected Status.
What do all these places have in common? They’re regions Trump has either insulted, invaded or threatened. How can anyone watch these matches and not be reminded of what we’ve thrown away, for no good reason?
Meanwhile, we’re co-hosting the tournament with Canada and Mexico—two more countries the president has bullied. He wants to turn Canada into our 51st state. He even renamed the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America.” And just this week elected to not renew our free trade agreement with our neighbors, likely costing American consumers and companies billions in the coming years.
And yet here we are, the three of us, jointly hosting the biggest sporting event in the world. Because when America works with its neighbors instead of against them, we build things to be proud of.
This Fourth of July, we mark 250 years since our Founding Fathers declared that all are created equal and that government derives its authority from the will of the people.
We declared independence from a king but not from the world. France helped us win the Revolutionary War. Britain helped us win both World Wars. In the Air Force and Congress, I learned it’s not smart to go it alone. We need allies.
From the beginning, our founders understood that America’s strength comes from unity—bringing more people to the table, not turning them away. Few countries believed the American Experiment would last. I know it will, but we have to keep fighting for it.
At the World Cup, I see many of our founders’ values. Patriotism. Pluralism. Passion.
Just like at the NBA Finals, the president expected to be the star of these games, too. Maybe he’s stayed away because he doesn’t want to get booed again. Instead, he’s holding his own 250th celebration, where visitors can gaze at a marvelous green reflecting pool.
It’s probably for the best. The “pro-America” crowd wants to cheer on our soccer team while doing everything it can to weaken Team America.
The president wants to decide who’s a real American citizen and who deserves to be here—using arguments his own Supreme Court appointees don’t buy.
He’s also losing these arguments in every World Cup host city, where fans from Japan to Cape Verde have been welcomed by Americans with open hearts and minds.
Whether or not you watch the games—and as a Bears fan, I admit I’m an NFL guy first—I want you to know that the American spirit is alive and well at the World Cup.
It proves that we can still welcome the world and show off the very best of America.
Here’s to Team U.S.A.
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