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Is there a Trump sports curse? USMNT's World Cup flameout revives the theory The "Great American State Fair" might no longer be the biggest flop of the summer.
The U.S.
men's national team exited the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a nightmare performance in a 4-1 loss to Belgium.
The game followed President Donald Trump's intervention to ask FIFA president Gianni Infantino to review the controversial red card issued to forward Folarin Balogun during the U.S.'s round of 32 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina.
FIFA suspended Balogun's one-game suspension, allowing star striker to play in the eventual end to the co-host's run.
The Belgian Football Association mocked the decision on social media after the dominant victory, posting an image of Romalu Lukaku's celebration after the fourth goal and saying, "overturn this." Trump's intervention and the subsequent error-plagued, idea-less and lackluster performance from USMNT have reignited questions about whether or not his presence curses his teams.
Trump has regularly attended sporting events and surrounded himself with sports stars while in office, most recently attending the New York Knicks' Game 3 loss in the NBA Finals, their only defeat of the series.
Here's a look at the potential Trump sports curse.
New York Knicks' only NBA Finals loss comes in game Trump attended As previously mentioned, the Knicks' only loss during the 2026 NBA Finals came in Game 3 the only one the New York City native attended.
In the wake of the 111-115 loss to the San Antonio Spurs that snapped a 13-game winning streak, Knicks fans accused Trump of placing a "curse" on the team.
That caused some fans to "cleanse" Madison Square Garden.
Kazeem Famuyide, an Emmy award-winning host for the Knicks' podcast "Big Apple Buckets," posted video of him and his friends holding sage outside of MSG.
The Knicks went on to win the series in five games.
Commanders lose Trump-attended game In November 2025, Trump attended a Washington Commanders game during which the Detroit Lions defeated the Commanders, 44-22.
He received a mixed reaction at FedEx Field.
During the victory, Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St.
Brown celebrated a touchdown with the "Trump Dance," for which he apologized.
The Lions collapsed after the victory against the Commanders, losing five of their last eight games and missed the playoffs.
Former NFL wide receiver Kenny Stills responded to a social media post of the Lions' record following the Commanders game by saying "Trump curse." Trump attends Ryder Cup, US loses Trump attended the first day of competition at the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage's Black Course on Long Island, New York.
The U.S.
was down 3-1 to Europe following the morning round when Trump told reporters, "We're going to get it done.
One way or another, we'll get it done." The U.S.
finsished the day down 5 12 to 2 12 by day's end.
Europe won the competition 15-13, and the president of the PGA of America apologized for the chants directed at Team Europe that he called "disrespectful." Contributing: Joey Garrison, Fernando Cervantes, Kinsey Crowley.