‘Embarrassment of the world': George Conway slams Trump for crashing Spain's celebrations

President Donald Trump was carefully cropped out of the pictures shared to FIFA’s official social media accounts following the World Cup final, after he stubbornly tried to stay in the frame of the Spanish team's winning moment on stage at MetLife Stadium. Trump, who stood alongside FIFA President Gianni Infantino near the team while they celebrated, was removed from the final pictures shared by the governing body and the winning team's photos shared on social media. Reacting to the move, long-time Trump critic George Conway called the president an "international embarrassment".  

Trump’s presentation of the trophy was described by many as awkward, as Infantino apparently attempted to guide Trump away from the team as they lifted the trophy. However, as the president stubbornly refused to budge, one Australian commentator, Claudio Fabiano, said, “They’re gonna edit him out of that.” That's exactly what happened as the photos FIFA and the Spanish team did not include Trump, and he didn't feature in the 20-slide post on Instagram from later Sunday night that shows the team celebrating. Sharing a clip of the Australian commentary, Conway mocked Trump, saying, "The champions of the world, joined by the embarrassment of the world."

On the other hand, on Monday afternoon,  the White House shared six pictures from the final on social media, making sure that Trump was included in all of them, while only two out of the six pictures included the winning team. Before the celebrations began, the president was loudly booed by the crowd at the stadium as he joined Infantino on the field to present the players with their medals. The crowd had previously made their feelings clear during the national anthem as well when Trump appeared on the screen.

Furthermore, the president's ties with FIFA have become increasingly controversial. Last year, he courted similar backlash after presenting medals to Chelsea at the first FIFA Club World Cup, as he tried to linger on the stage and appeared to walk away with one of the championship medals. He also sparked criticism after he admitted to personally calling up Infantino to allegedly reverse a straight red card that banned U.S. striker Folarin Balogun from playing in the round of 16. While the suspension was eventually revoked, Trump claimed he did not tell Infantino what to do, as per Forbes. 

The administration also fueled concerns over the U.S.'s role in hosting the World Cup while continuing to expand foreign travel bans and crack down on immigration domestically. Last year in July, 90 civil society groups signed an open letter urging FIFA to press Trump on his immigration policies ahead of the global event in soccer. “We call on FIFA to use its influence to encourage the U.S. government to guarantee the fundamental rights of the millions of foreign visitors and fans who seek entry to the U.S. to attend the tournaments, and those of the constitutional rights of the many immigrants who already live, work, and contribute meaningfully to the cities selected to host them,” the letter read, as per The Athletic.