Trump's Strategic Sporting Appearances and Political Ambitions in 2025-2026
In 2025, Donald Trump made highly visible appearances across a broad spectrum of U.S. sports events, including the Super Bowl, Daytona 500 where Air Force One buzzed the speedway and The Beast paced ceremonial laps, NCAA wrestling championships, UFC cards, FIFA Club World Cup final at MetLife Stadium, Ryder Cup at Bethpage, LIV Golf at Doral, and the US Open. This deliberate presence across multiple venues was used as staged demonstrations of relevance, aiming for brief visibility on social feeds and selecting venues that either amplified support or framed dissent as elitist.
Major donors, most notably Miriam Adelson, funded Trump's political operations, reportedly contributing about $100 million to his 2024 re-election campaign and pledging up to $250 million for a 2028 bid.
Looking ahead to 2026, with the U.S. hosting the men's World Cup, Trump seeks to co-opt the event for international validation while maintaining a close relationship with FIFA President Gianni Infantino. On the fourth day of the World Cup, Trump is scheduled to celebrate his 80th birthday from a VIP box at a UFC event held on the White House South Lawn.
Trump frames sport as a pipeline of Americana, using the culture-war narrative—particularly around transgender participation in women’s sports—to galvanize his political base and mobilize supporters. At the World Cup draw, he was awarded FIFA’s Peace Prize, described as a coup de grâce to parody.
