What is even going on here?
What is even going on here?
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Soccer fans worry over the threat of ICE at FIFA Club World Cup
Ahead of the kick-off of the FIFA Club World Cup, fans discussed fears of ICE raids impacting the soccer tournament.
As U.S. President Donald Trump spoke about immigration, banning transgender people from playing sports and the possibility of war with Iran, Weston McKennie and Tim Weah stood uncomfortably just behind him.
The preceding sentence is a real thing that occurred on Wednesday afternoon in Washington D.C. It may be worth reading a couple times, because the entire Oval Office scene seemed like a fever dream.
But it wasn't. The U.S. men's national team pair, along with several of their Juventus teammates, visited the White House ahead of their FIFA Club World Cup opener against Al Ain later on Wednesday at Audi Field.
Juventus club executives, former player Giorgio Chiellini, head coach Igor Tudor and — in yet another White House visit — FIFA president Gianni Infantino also were present for the bizarre scene.
Sports teams visiting the White House isn't necessarily out of the ordinary. Championship teams across American sports are typically invited to celebrate their achievement with the president.
But seeing Trump take on some of the biggest political talking points of the day with a team of soccer players behind him? That was odd, to say the least.
As the fourth place finisher in Serie A stood behind him, Trump spoke about border crossings, the contentious interview between Sen. Ted Cruz and Tucker Carlson, and whether he was about to start World War III by attacking Iran.
Trump even tried to goad some of the players into taking on one of his favored issues: banning transgender people from playing sports. The president asked the players behind him if they thought a women could make their team.
Cue nervous laughter and silence.
To his credit, Juventus general manager Damien Comolli finally broke the tension by answering that Juventus had a good women's team of its own.
"See? They're very diplomatic," Trump said.
Trump asks the Juventus players standing behind him if women could make their team and tries to bait them into endorsing his transphobia pic.twitter.com/cJymDAmcSd — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 18, 2025
Just another day in our nation's capital.
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He worked with his friend Sebastian*, 31, to distribute them around town. What began as a friends-and-family effort expanded after Ben shared the PDF: 'I shared it with a few friends, then they shared it, and so it kind of just blew up.' For Sebastian, the issue was personal. 'I moved here from Colombia 14 years ago, and ever since the first Trump administration, I've seen my community being attacked,' he said. 'So as soon as I saw these posters that my friend was doing, that I felt something in me that needed to go out and help.' While they worked, 'people started taking photos, and I had a moment with this one elderly woman where she was looking at it, and she really just started tearing up,' Ben said. 'At that moment, I was like, 'OK, this is actually connecting to people.'' The images have appeared in recent days as the city has become a focal point for protests against Trump's immigration policies, which began on 6 June amid raids targeting immigrants at several locations in the city. As the protests emerged in parts of LA, Donald Trump called in the national guard without the governor's consent – an action no president has taken since 1965. Shortly afterward, he summoned hundreds of marines. Much news coverage painted the city as a kind of post-apocalyptic hellscape, with protesters facing off against troops and cars on fire, fueling Trump's narrative of a lawless city hopelessly embroiled in chaos. In fact, much of the unrest was confined to a small area of downtown LA. Across most of the vast city and county, life continued as normal, the sun shining over familiar traffic jams, studio lots and suburban sprawl. Still, the protests – and the federal government's wildly disproportionate clampdown – served as a spark that has helped to fuel a national outcry, as well as this subtler demonstration of local solidarity. Alongside the 'Missing' posters were a series of alternative descriptions of Ice – rather than Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, stenciled messages on the pavement and shop windows condemned 'Illegal Country-wide Embarrassment', 'Institution of Child Endangerment' and the perhaps less clear 'Insecure Confused Ejaculation'. Other flyers advertised Saturday's 'No Kings' protests, while still others noted that 'Undocumented hands feed you', with an illustration of a person working in a field. Those latter posters were created by Sydney*, 29, who works in the music industry in Los Angeles. Her 9-to-5 job makes it impossible to attend protests, she said, so creating this image was an alternative way to participate in resistance. 'You read something tragic every morning lately about the Ice raids,' she said. She was particularly moved by the plight of agricultural workers, toiling for low wages under the threat of immigration crackdowns. 'I just felt very compelled to speak up for them in places that people probably don't think about them, like Silver Lake and the city,' she said. 'I am Latina. I have many family members that came here and are immigrants, and so it just touches home for me.' Inspired by a slogan she saw in protest photos and Mexican decor flags, Sydney created the stylized image as a social media post. 'I just wanted to tie something beautiful with something very political and loud,' she said. A friend saw the post, asked if she could print it out, and plastered it around town. That DIY approach adds to the posters' power: there is a sense of neighbors helping neighbors. As the administration conjures a tale of a city in crisis, the images – unpretentious and haunting – serve as a reminder of what the protests are actually about. * The Guardian is withholding full names for privacy reasons
