Remarks on Signing an Executive Order on Establishing the White House Task Force on the FIFA World Cup 2026 and an Exchange With Reporters

The President. Well, thank you very much.

We're going to be establishing a Task Force, a very important Task Force—White House, and that's on the FIFA World Cup of 2026, which, as you know, is a big event. It's going to be the biggest event, I think.

And, Gianni, I think you're going to say a few words. Everybody knows this man on the right. He's sort of the king of soccer, I guess, in a certain way. And he was the one that was able to give it to us, and we're going to do a fantastic job in making you at home.

So I would very much appreciate it. First time it's ever been in this part of the world, and it's an honor. Thank you very much, Gianni.

Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) President Giovanni V. Infantino. Thank you. Thank you, President. Thank you, President.

Well, it is a great achievement to bring the World Cup next year—the FIFA World Cup in '26 here in the United States, together with Mexico and Canada.

And this summer, actually, we have a new competition, the FIFA Club World Cup, in '25, from the 14th of June to the 13th of July, only in the United States of America, 11 cities, 12 stadiums. The best players in the world. The best teams in the world.

America will welcome the world. There will be millions of people coming, Mr. President. Millions of people. The economic impact is 40 billion U.S. dollars between now and next year. We will create 200,000 jobs for these two World Cups. And more than that, we will give joy and happiness to the entire world. And this is priceless, definitely.

So thank you, Mr. President——

The President. Thank you, Gianni.

Mr. Infantino. ——for setting up this Task Force, because it is important that everyone that comes to America feels safe, feels welcome. And that's why it's important that the Government puts together this White House Task Force, chaired by the President himself. It shows the importance of the FIFA World Cups, I should say, because there are many, many topics to deal with, of course, and we want everyone who comes to America and who goes to watch one of these games—we have 10 million tickets for sale—it's like three Super Bowls every day for one month—that everyone that goes feels safe, feels happy, and feels that we are doing something special.

So we are here to create and to make the best show on the planet ever. And we'll do it together, Mr. President.

The President. Oh, that's great. I love what he said, like three Super Bowls a day for a month. [Laughter] That's what it is.

Mr. Infantino. That's what it is. [Laughter]

The President. That's really amazing, when you think of it. I've never heard that expression.

Mr. Infantino. Yes.

The President. That's a lot.

When—you know, when we made this, it was made during my term—my first term, and it was so sad, because I said: "Can you imagine? I'm not going to be President, and that's too bad." And then what happened is they rigged the election, and I became President. So that was a good thing. That was a good thing. That was quite a—quite an achievement for both of us.

So I'll be President during the World Cup and during the Olympics, which we were very instrumental in getting. And then, of course, we have our 250th birthday too. And of that, I wasn't instrumental. That just happened to fall on the same time. [Laughter]

So we have the three—those three big events. You don't get very much bigger than that: the Olympics, the World Cup, and number 250.

And it's a great honor. But I appreciate your selecting us. And we were selected a long time ago, though, during the term, during my first term. And it's an honor to be with you, Gianni.

Mr. Infantino. Thank you.

The President. You've been my friend for a long time.

Mr. Infantino. My honor. Absolutely. Thank you much.

The President. He's a great gentleman.

Okay. I'll sign this. And that makes it official, right?

Mr. Infantino. That makes it official, yes.

The President. That's good, Gianni.

Mr. Infantino. Here we are. Then we have to start working.

[At this point, the President signed the Executive order.]

World Cup 2026

Q. Can you talk a little bit about the halftime show that you anticipate for the championship? Will it be like the Super Bowl halftime show or better?

Mr. Infantino. Well, you know, the Super Bowl has around 100 million viewers or 150 million viewers. The World Cup final has 2 billion viewers. So we have to make it 20 times better and 20 times bigger than the Super Bowl. [Laughter]

The President. I think it will be better, I think. I think it will be better.

Mr. Infantino. I——

World Cup Contenders

Q. Any idea on the economic impact of this in all these cities around the country? It's got to be huge.

Mr. Infantino. Yes, it's huge. It's around $40 billion in—all in the United States—40 billion U.S. dollars, the economic impact. Two hundred thousand jobs created.

It's—so, per city, you can divide by 11, and you know a little bit what each city gets, more or less. Some cities get more; others get less. But we'll have, you know, 10 million tourists coming—some with tickets, others without tickets who just want to be here during these World Cups.

The President. What team is favored now, if there's such a thing? I mean, do they have a team—like so many of these great, famous teams—what team seems to be favored?

Mr. Infantino. Well, on the club one, which takes place this year, of course, Real Madrid; Manchester City; Bayern Munich, the Germans; Paris Saint-Germain, the French. The big ones are always there. And these clubs are multinationals. They have players from all countries.

The President. They always seem to be there, right?

Mr. Infantino. They are always there.

The President. Those great teams.

Mr. Infantino. They are always there. Yes, yes, yes.

And then next year, Argentina, Brazil——

The President. Right.

Mr. Infantino. ——England, Germany, Spain.

The President. It's going to be great.

Mr. Infantino. So it will be great.

Q. U.S.?

The President. Any questions for Gianni?

U.S. National Soccer Team

Q. U.S.? [Laughter]

Mr. Infantino. U.S., U.S., U.S. is coming up. U.S. is coming. Watch the U.S. Some very, very good players playing in Europe, but we need to bring them back here to play here.

The President. So can the U.S. win?

Mr. Infantino. The U.S. can win, yes, with the public behind.

The President. See.

Mr. Infantino. They play on—no, they play on some of the top teams.

The President. He know what to say. [Laughter]

Mr. Infantino. Yes. Yes, yes. They play on some of the top teams.

The President. So there's a shot, right?

Mr. Infantino. Yes, there is a shot. Absolutely, yes.

The President. That's great. Well, we'll hold that up for you guys.

Brian [Brian Glenn, America's Real Voice], did you have another question?

World Cup/Olympic Games

Q. Well, I was just going to say, this continues your pursuit to bring America back in every aspect: the economy; world peace; sports now, which is awesome.

The President. Yes.

Q. I want to preview a little bit of the Olympics. I know you've talked about that before, bringing the Olympics in.

The President. Well, I'm just very happy to have done it. I mean, you know, I didn't think this was going to happen. I said, "I'll be sitting there but not as President." So I was, you know, very honored.

Actually, Gianni reminded me. Called me up very early on, and he said, "You're going to be President during this whole thing," after we won. So it's a great honor for our country to have it, actually. It's a big deal.

It's—I don't know which is bigger, the Olympics or the World Cup. What is the story of that? Can I ask you that question?

Mr. Infantino. No, the World Cup is much, much, much bigger than the Olympics. [Laughter] Come on.

Q. Mr. President——

The President. We've——

Mr. Infantino. And it's in the whole country, huh?

The President. Yes, we've——

Mr. Infantino. The Olympics is in one city.

The President. We've got them both. We've got——

Q. Mr. President——

World Cup Matches

Q. It's a long way off, Mr. President, but do you foresee yourself attending some matches or a match?

The President. Oh, yes. Sure. I would like to. I'd like to go to, certainly, more than one.

Mr. Infantino. Yes.

The President. We'll be making the rounds.

Mr. Infantino. Fantastic.

The President. It's a period of a month.

Mr. Infantino. Yes.

The President. And it's really top of the line. It's one of the great events, maybe the—one of the great events of anywhere in the world.

Mr. Infantino. Yes.

Q. Mr. President——

The President's Cabinet/White House Senior Adviser Elon R. Musk

Q. Mr. President, since you last spoke about it yesterday, some details have come out about your Cabinet meeting with Elon Musk and some clashes, potentially, between Secretary Rubio and Secretary Duffy.

The President. No clash. I was there. You're just a troublemaker. And you're not supposed to be asking that question, because we're talking about the World Cup.

Q. But Mr. President——

The President. Elon gets along great with Marco, and they're both doing a fantastic job. There is no clash.

Q. But, Mr. President, who, bottom line——

The President. Who are you with? Who are you with?

Q. NBC.

The President. Oh, no wonder. [Laughter]

Q. Who——

The President. That's enough, NBC.

Q. Mr. President, who has more authority, Elon Musk or your Cabinet Secretaries?

The President. Any other questions about the World Cup?

Mr. Infantino. Can we unveil the trophy, maybe?

The President. I'd love to do that.

Mr. Infantino. Because this is something special. So today is hundred days to go for the new—for a new competition that we created——

The President. Right.

Mr. Infantino. ——together: the FIFA Club World Cup, the best clubs in the world with the best players in the world.

So we can show. This is a unique trophy. This is the trophy, but it's not finished, because it's unlike any other trophy. There is a key.

The President. Oh, wow.

[Mr. Infantino displayed the golden key.]

Mr. Infantino. There is no other sports trophy like that.

The President. Wow, that is great—whoa.

Mr. Infantino. Yes, yes, yes.

The President. Oh, you've got to be kidding.

[Mr. Infantino operated the mechanism that unfurled the trophy, with the assistance of an aide.]

Mr. Infantino. Yes, yes, yes.

The President. Wow.

Mr. Infantino. Wait, wait, wait.

The President. Wow. That's one I've never seen.

[Mr. Infantino handed the golden key to the President.]

Thank you.

Mr. Infantino. And that's the trophy.

The President. That is something, huh?

Q. We've got to win now, Mr. President. [Laughter]

The President. We have to win.

Q. We've got to win.

Mr. Infantino. This is—so this is a good one.

The President. That's beautiful.

Mr. Infantino. Inter Miami and Seattle Sounders played for this trophy.

The President. Never seen anything like that.

Mr. Infantino. It is a special—it's a trophy of the future.

The President. Yes, yes.

Mr. Infantino. It represents the past, the future, everything—the present.

The President. And this will be at the White House for a little while. [Laughter]

Mr. Infantino. Yes.

The President. So, if anybody needs a picture or anything, you can take it, but this is——

Mr. Infantino. So, if you like it, Mr. President, it can stay here. Just on the 13th of July, you should take it with me——

The President. Yes. Let's leave it here.

Mr. Infantino. ——to the stadium to give it to the winners.

The President. Sure. We'll——

Mr. Infantino. They can take a picture, and then we'll bring it back here after the picture. [Laughter]

The President. Let's do that. We'll leave it here. We'll have it in the White House quite a bit.

Mr. Infantino. Excellent.

The President. It travels a little bit also.

Mr. Infantino. Yes.

The President. But I appreciate it. That's good.

Mr. Infantino. Fantastic.

[The President held up the golden key.]

The President. And I know this—this could definitely stay, right? [Laughter] Anyway.

Mr. Infantino. That's fantastic.

The President. Thank you, Gianni.

Mr. Infantino. Thank you so much.

The President. Congratulations.

Mr. Infantino. Thank you. Thank you.

[Several reporters began asking questions at once.]

The President's Cabinet/U.S. DOGE Service

Q. Mr. President, wanted to follow up on the Cabinet meeting, sir. Just on the Cabinet meeting, you said Musk will play an advisory role, DOGE will play an advisory——

The President. We're talking about FIFA. Thank you very much.

Q. And——

Q. About the World Cup, Mr. President. Are you having ten—some tensions with——

The President. And they're both great guys. And by the way, they both get along fantastically well. Marco has done unbelievably as Secretary of State, and Elon is a very unique guy who's done a fantastic job.

Q. Do you think he needs to be reined in——

The President. Yes.

Q. ——Mr. President?

The President. Enough. Enough. It's FIFA.

Q. How do you see the——

The President. Is this a FIFA question?

World Cup

Q. How do you see the World Cup playing out with the, you know, the tensions you have with Canada and Mexico, who will also be part——

The President. Oh, I think it's going to make it more exciting. Tension is a good thing.

Q. Even for the World Cup?

The President. Yes, I think so. I think it makes it much more exciting.

Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi L. Noem. Sir, the entire committee is here for FIFA with Gianni, if——

The President. Where? Oh, please, come up.

Secretary Noem. If you would like them to come up and take a picture with you.

The President. Please. Gianni, come on.

Mr. Infantino. Yes, please.

The President. Get them up. That's great.

Q. Mr. President, what type of enhanced security do you anticipate having for all of these big events——

The President. I'll let you——

Q. ——that are happening over the course of the next few years?

The President. I'll let Kristi——

Secretary Noem. Homeland Security is running the event——

The President. ——answer that question.

Secretary Noem. Oh, answer what question?

The President. Go ahead. Security.

Secretary Noem. We had—the security for this event will be run by the Department of Homeland Security. So we are signing today this document that will say that we will form task forces and partnerships. We'll have incident command centers in these 11 cities that will partner all the agencies and departments at the Federal. We'll have some worldwide partners as well.

Mr. Infantino. Yes. Global level.

Secretary Noem. As long as—yes. It will be under our umbrella, and we'll help facilitate that. But also, working with our local law enforcement is incredibly powerful.

So streamlining those communications, it'll be a wonderful event, and everybody will be safe and fun.

The President. We'd better be, right?

Secretary Noem. Yes, it will be.

Mr. Infantino. This is the official ball——

[Mr. Infantino handed the President a soccer ball.]

The President. Thank you very much.

Mr. Infantino. ——with your name.

The President. Thank you.

Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) Senior Adviser Carlos Cordeiro. With your name there.

Mr. Infantino. Yes.

The President. Ooh, that's nice. I would give it to Kristi, except it has my name on it. [Laughter]

Mr. Cordeiro. We have another one for her.

Secretary Noem. [Inaudible]

Mr. Infantino. Of course. Of course.

The President. That's beautiful. Thank you very much.

Is that going to be the ball?

Mr. Cordeiro. This is the ball for this——

Mr. Infantino. That's the official match ball——

Mr. Cordeiro. ——for this——

Mr. Infantino. ——for this trophy.

The President. This will be what——

Mr. Cordeiro. ——for this trophy.

The President. ——it will look like, the ball?

Mr. Infantino. Yes.

The President. When they play?

Mr. Infantino. When they play.

The President. Wow. That's great.

Mr. Infantino. Yes. Yes. Nobody have played yet—has played yet with that ball.

The President. That's great. Thank you very much, everybody.

Mr. Infantino. Thank you so much.

[Several reporters spoke at once.]

The President. Gianni, thank you very much.

Mr. Infantino. Thank you so much. Thank you so much.

The President. Thank you very much.

Q. Columbia University, sir—what can Columbia University do to restore the funds, sir?