Trump hails World Cup as safest in history, thanks law enforcement

Trump the president credited police, aide Andrew Giuliani and FIFA chief Gianni Infantino after the tournament closed, calling it the safest and most spectacular championship ever staged.

First Published: July 20, 2026, 9:48 AM ET

WASHINGTON D.C. — Donald Trump declared the World Cup a spectacular success and thanked law enforcement in a Truth Social post on July 20, 2026 at 12:36 PM ET.

Here is the full post on truthsocial: “The World Cup turned out to be a spectacular SUCCESS! I want to thank all of those involved but, in particular, our GREAT Law Enforcement. The Respect that everyone has for them, together with their Love of our Country, kept this Great Championship the Safest and Most Spectacular World Cup in History, BY FAR! Thank you also to all others involved and, in particular, to young and dynamic Andrew Giuliani, working for the Government of the United States of America, and the fantastic President of FIFA, Gianni Infantino, on a job well done! Few people will ever be able to accomplish what he has done in elevating the World Cup to a level that nobody thought was possible. Congratulations to all! Trump”

The president singled out three groups for praise. He credited police and security agencies for keeping the tournament safe, thanked Andrew Giuliani for his government work, and applauded FIFA President Gianni Infantino for expanding the championship. The 2026 tournament spanned the United States, Canada and Mexico, according to fifa.com.

The 2026 edition marked the first time the World Cup expanded to 48 teams, up from 32 in prior tournaments, according to fifa.com. The United States staged the majority of matches, with venues in cities including New York, Los Angeles and Dallas. A competition of that scale demanded coordination among federal, state and local law enforcement, according to dhs.gov.

The stakes reached beyond sport. A safe tournament strengthened the case for the United States as a host of major global events, and any security lapse would have drawn intense scrutiny. Businesses in host cities, hotels and airlines counted on the influx of visitors, while security agencies protected millions of fans across three countries.

For the average US reader, the tournament meant crowded stadiums, heightened security screening and a surge of international travelers in host cities during the summer of 2026. Fans who attended matches passed through checkpoints staffed by the agencies Trump praised in his post.

Has this happened before? Yes. The United States previously hosted the World Cup in 1994, drawing record attendance that averaged more than 68,000 spectators per match, according to fifa.com. That tournament set a crowd-size standard that later competitions struggled to match.

No further decision on the tournament is pending, and FIFA has not announced a date for any formal review of the 2026 edition. The next men’s World Cup is scheduled for 2030, according to fifa.com.

Hosting the World Cup on American soil isn’t the first time the country has staged a global sporting spectacle under intense security. The United States hosted the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles in 1984 and again in Atlanta in 1996, where a bombing in Centennial Olympic Park killed two people and injured more than 100, according to fbi.gov. Los Angeles will host the Summer Olympics once more in 2028, according to olympics.com, placing the security lessons of past events at the center of preparations to come.