FIFA’s Infantino Seeks Trump’s Help After World Cup Plan Falls Apart

After FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s plan to sell off a stake in the World Cup fell through due to heavy backlash, he tried to get in touch with President Trump.

The New York Post reports that Infantino attempted to call Trump over the weekend several times because he was worried about losing his job following an avalanche of negative press over his idea, which led to the European and North American soccer associations, UEFA and CONCACAF respectively, threatening to boycott all FIFA events. Unable to reach Trump, Infantino instead reportedly held a private call with Secretary of State Marco Rubio Monday morning, hoping to enlist help in staving off pressure to resign.

“He wanted to get online with the secretary and talk about how soccer can be a form of soft power for America,” an unnamed source told the Post. “But we all know that it is about job protection. It is not about anything else at this point.”

Infantino’s plan was to create a commercial entity for broadcasting, sponsorship, licensing, and ticketing rights, and he enlisted financial backing from Thrive Capital, an investment firm led by Josh Kushner, the brother of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. The plan was immediately attacked as yet another example of decades-long FIFA corruption, which has only gotten worse under Trump.

Now, if Infantino keeps his job, it will be seen as Trump further intervening in international soccer and cementing the corrupt relationship between the two. The threat of a World Cup boycott from major countries apparently didn’t scare Infantino enough, because getting Trump’s help will only increase soccer fans’ anger.

President Donald Trump has his eye on the ball—a golf ball, that is.

The president took to Truth Social Sunday to trash-talk his opponents at a championship tournament at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey.

“I won with a score of 70, and am so honored in that, unlike the rest of the field, I’m given very little time to practice, because I’m focused on many other things,” Trump wrote. “It’s called TALENT, and I have it, and they don’t!”

Putting aside the fact that Trump just insulted all of the people who pay him thousands of dollars a year for membership at his clubs, the president’s talent for golf has long been disputed. In his 2019 book Commander in Cheat: How Golf Explains Trump, veteran sportswriter Rick Reilly claimed that when it came to golf, Trump “cheats like a mafia accountant.”

In any case, Trump’s victory was seemingly undercut by the small crowd of attendees who turned up to watch him play. No wonder he had to take to social media to share a video of his final stroke.

Trump’s latest golf triumph brings to mind a quote by Emmet Hughes, a political speechwriter and aide to former Presider Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Hughes asserted that as an intellectual, Eisenhower “bestowed upon the games of golf and bridge all the enthusiasm and perseverance that he withheld from his books and ideas.”

Nothing could be truer about Trump, who just put out an open call for “unconventional” new ideas to end his war in Iran. Maybe that will give him more time to work on his golf game.

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear is backing off threats to replace Senator Mitch McConnell, noting that the Republican’s extended absence would hurt his party all the same.

Beshear announced Monday that the August 3 deadline to call a special election to replace McConnell had “no legal impact” on the governor’s options should there be a Senate vacancy.

“Worth a reminder, right now, there’s one less vote for the SAVE Act, Trump’s war with Iran, or the potential replacement of a SCOTUS justice,” Beshear wrote in a statement on X.

Beshear never had the power to force McConnell out of his seat.

Under Section 152 of the Kentucky state Constitution, McConnell needed to resign at least three months ahead of the vote in order to call a special election. Kentucky’s law on Senate vacancies, House Bill 622, eliminated the governor’s ability to appoint interim replacements for vacant U.S. Senate seats. That law remains legally untested.

Beshear has repeatedly called on McConnell to justify his absence from Congress or to step down in time for Kentucky voters to choose a replacement. Now, the Kentucky governor’s arguing that missing votes might be a punishment in and of itself for the Republican Party’s astounding lack of transparency.

Over the weekend, Beshear came under fire from Republicans for missing Kentucky’s annual Fancy Farm picnic. The Kentucky governor called them out for their obvious double standard.

“Funny how the Republicans are all mad I missed one political event to watch my son play baseball. But no outrage that Mitch McConnell has been nowhere to be seen for 50 days,” he wrote on X Saturday.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin is on thin ice.

It’s only been four months since Mullin took over from Kristi Noem as head of DHS, and influential MAGA allies are already calling for him to be replaced.

The latest surge of anger came Saturday after Mullin delivered remarks about immigration reform at the National Governors Association Summer Meeting in Oklahoma City. In the meeting, Mullin made the mistake of distinguishing between immigrants pursuing legal status and those who aren’t, calling for changes to work visas and broader immigration reform to address American labor shortages.

A few hours later, Mullin attempted to walk back his statement on X, posting “NO amnesty for illegal aliens. Ever. We are a nation of laws. If you are illegally present in the United States of America—you will be detained and deported. Period.”

But the damage was already done.

Influential voices on the right quickly began attacking Mullin for being weak on immigration.

“Mullin is the wrong guy at the wrong time for the wrong job,” Steve Bannon told Politico Saturday. “At a time when we need focus on ‘mass deportations,’ we get an amnesty advocate.”

Bannon’s sentiments were joined by those of a slew of right-wing advocates, including Laura Loomer, Nick Sortor, Robby Starbuck, and MAGA podcaster Jake Posobiec.

Even former Border Patrol chief Gregory Bovino got in on the action, posting that Mullin “celebrates your replacement as long as it’s done legally, without mentioning that 80% of legal immigrants will vote Democrat.… And we wonder why we’re going to lose the midterms?”

“It takes a lot to unite this administration around a cohesive point of view,” one senior Trump official told Politico. “Mullin deserves credit where credit is due. Everyone agrees he sucks donkey butt.”

Mullin’s tenure as DHS secretary has been dogged by a series of missteps and controversies, including his attempt to temporarily restrict Immigration and Customs Enforcement vehicle stops (there have been 11 fatal shootings by ICE agents since President Trump returned to office, many of which involved officers firing into vehicles), as well as his apparent willingness to interact civilly with the enemy across the aisle, including Democratic Governor of Pennsylvania Josh Shapiro and Democratic Maryland Governor Wes Moore.

Trump allies are already floating names for Mullin’s replacement, including acting Director of National Intelligence Bill Pulte and White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller.

Still, the administration is standing by its DHS secretary—at least for now.

“The President has confidence in Secretary Mullin and his entire Administration to carry out the agenda the American people voted for,” White House deputy press secretary Abigail Jackson told Politico.

The Trump administration is running out of ways to pressure Iran, with its airstrikes failing to end Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz or force the country back to the negotiating table. So now the military is asking for “unconventional” new ideas.

CNN reports that an officer in the U.S. Central Command’s intelligence branch sent a message Wednesday to military analysts “looking for new creative and unconventional ways to pressure and punish Iran.” It’s an unusual thing to ask over email, according to CNN, and shows that President Trump knows his options are limited as the war with Iran enters its sixth month.

The email was sent before Trump threatened new airstrikes against Iran and then relented, over the weekend, after Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and other Gulf leaders talked him out of it. Among the plans were attacking Pickaxe Mountain and other Iranian sites reportedly housing nuclear equipment or material.

Those sites are deep underground, however, and would have likely required deploying American ground troops, which Trump is trying to avoid. Eighteen American service members have been killed in the war, according to official counts, and the administration has been criticized for its lack of transparency on military casualties.

“At the end of the day, POTUS will want a deal, so he’ll continually look for ways to get tough and get out of this,” an unnamed source told CNN. “You need creative minds at times—especially if you’re running out of conventional options.”

But more bombing probably won’t change Iran’s negotiating position, according to the CIA and Defense Intelligence Agency. Trump has effectively backed himself into a corner with his ill-advised war, and is having trouble with being able to walk away with anything he can call a victory. American missile stockpiles have dwindled, scores of civilians have been killed, and the global economy, including gas prices, has taken a massive hit. Trump needs a way out.