Before the opening whistle of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, many of President Donald Trump’s critics predicted the tournament would become an international embarrassment for the United States.
Instead, the first weeks of competition have produced packed stadiums, record-breaking attendance and glowing reviews from fans visiting America — leaving some Democrats publicly acknowledging that their expectations never materialized.
Politico reported this week that the success of the tournament has forced many on the left to “grapple uncomfortably” with how smoothly the World Cup has unfolded, despite months of warnings about travel, logistics and the international perception of the United States under the Trump administration.
“I think that there was a little bit of like liberal wishcasting that this would maybe be a disaster to sort of stick it to Trump,” Democratic digital strategist Rob Flaherty told Politico. “It hasn’t yet been.”
The tournament has become one of the largest sporting events ever hosted in North America, with FIFA announcing that more than 4.6 million fans attended matches during the group stage across the United States, Canada and Mexico — surpassing the previous World Cup attendance record of roughly 3.5 million set during the 1994 tournament.
Social media has also been flooded with videos showing international supporters embracing the American experience.
Scottish supporters packed Major League Baseball stadiums. Dutch fans turned city streets into seas of orange. A German traveler documenting his cross-country road trip through small-town America became a viral sensation after sharing stories of Southern hospitality and eventually meeting country singer Ella Langley backstage at one of her concerts. England supporters even visited the White House and met with President Trump.
The scenes stand in sharp contrast to pre-tournament predictions that foreign fans would avoid traveling to the United States because of Trump’s immigration policies or concerns over the event’s organization.
Even some Democrat lawmakers have acknowledged the tournament’s success.
Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.) described the World Cup as a “remarkable success” in a post on X before telling Politico that, “I’m excited about the U.S. hosting the World Cup, how well that it has gone, how receptive these foreign fan bases have been to finding out more about the United States and interacting with ordinary Americans.”
Boyle, however, stopped short of crediting the Trump administration for the outcome.
“Let me be clear, my comments are irrespective of the Trump administration,” Boyle told Politico. “Frankly, his immigration policies for the last year and a half did scare some people off from coming to the United States.”
Politico noted that many Democrats who had previously criticized preparations for the tournament have since shifted their focus as sold-out crowds and relatively few logistical issues have dominated headlines instead.
