President-elect Donald Trump‘s second term in the White House will be historic, not just because of how he made his way back but also because of some of the once-in-a-generation events he will preside over.
During his first term, Trump saw the United States win hosting rights to the Summer Olympics and the FIFA World Cup for the first time since the 1990s, and in his second term, he will be the major figurehead for both.
2026 World Cup
In the same year the U.S. will celebrate its 250th birthday, the country will also host the FIFA World Cup with Canada and Mexico. While the event will be co-hosted with the U.S.’s neighbors to the north and south, the vast majority of matches will be held in the U.S.
Trump will be the second president to oversee a FIFA Men’s World Cup after former President Bill Clinton oversaw the 1994 edition, which was hosted solely in the U.S.
The soccer tournament will begin on June 11, 2026, with a pair of matches in Mexico City before the first match in the U.S. The men’s national team will try to improve on its recent performances, starting its bid on June 12, 2026, from SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
The tournament will feature games in host cities Foxborough, Massachusetts; East Rutherford, New Jersey; Arlington, Texas; Kansas City, Missouri; Houston, Texas; Atlanta, Georgia; Inglewood, California; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Seattle, Washington; Santa Clara, California; and Miami Gardens, Florida. There will also be five host cities in Mexico and Canada.
The final for the 2026 World Cup will be held at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on July 19, 2026.
Clinton attended the opening match of the 1994 World Cup in Chicago. It is too early to say if Trump will attend a match, but he was supportive of the bid during his first term and addressed the draw for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, which will also be hosted by the U.S., earlier this month.
“I want to say my highest regards in respect to [FIFA President Gianni Infantino], and it’s an honor to be with you, and we’ll be with you very soon. And we’re going to be watching the World Cup, very importantly, also very soon. And I was very responsible, along with Gianni in getting it. And it’s going to be a fantastic thing,” Trump said in a prerecorded video at the Club World Cup draw in December.
During his remarks, Trump said he would try to make a match of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, which has widely been viewed as a trial run for the 2026 World Cup. Traditionally, the head of state of the host country presents the trophy at the FIFA World Cup, but it is unknown if Trump will do so in 2026. At the last men’s World Cup in 2022, the emir of Qatar presented the winning trophy to Argentina.
2028 Summer Olympics
The Summer Olympics will return to the U.S. for the first time since 1996, when Los Angeles hosts the games in July 2028. Los Angeles will host the Olympics for a third time, after previously doing so in 1932 and 1984.
Trump is expected to be the fourth president to declare the Olympics open during the opening ceremony on July 14, 2028, though he could decline the honor.
During the first five Olympics hosted in the U.S., each of the sitting presidents declined to attend the opening ceremony to declare the games open. In 1984, at another Summer Olympics hosted in Los Angeles, former President Ronald Reagan broke the streak by going to the opening ceremony and declaring the games open.
Since the 1984 games, each Olympics held in the U.S. has been opened by a sitting president, with Clinton opening the Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1996 and former President George W. Bush opening the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 2002.
During his first term, Trump supported bids for the 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Olympics, and the LA28 organizers expressed confidence in their ability to work with the president-elect shortly after his election victory.
“President Trump was president when we got the Games in 2017 and signed federally binding documents that committed them to deliver security and transportation,” LA28 Chairman and President Casey Wasserman said last month at a press conference, according to Reuters.
“The Olympics aren’t about politics. They’re not about red and blue, they’re about red, white and blue,” he added. “These are America’s Games taking place in Los Angeles, and it sits above politics in just about every way we experience.”
Trump has touted the World Cup and the Olympics periodically as achievements of his first term, including during an interview on the Let’s Go! podcast just before the November election.
“The World Cup and the Olympics, I was responsible for getting both of them, actually, and I was very honored to do so. And I’m sure they’ll work out really good,” Trump said.
For major events hosted in the U.S. during his tenure, Trump appointed Monica Crowley to act as his administration’s representative.
“Monica will be the Administration Representative for major U.S. hosted events, including America’s 250th Birthday in 2026, the FIFA World Cup in 2026, and the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028,” Trump said in a statement earlier this month.
Other sporting events
Sports are expected to overlap with Trump’s second term through other avenues, including annual events such as the Super Bowl and the World Series. As president, Trump is expected to host various championship teams at the White House during his four years, as is tradition.
The president-elect, a fan of various sports, including football and golf, will likely make appearances at sporting events, as he has done during his time in and out of the White House.
Trump visited multiple Army-Navy football games, the college football national championship game, and the 2019 World Series, among other events during his first term.
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While Trump will have several sporting events to visit during his final term as president, the opportunity to open an Olympics in the U.S. will present itself to one of his successors five years after he leaves office. In 2034, Salt Lake City will host the Winter Olympics, meaning the winner of the 2032 presidential election will get the honor to open those games.
Outside of sports, Trump will mark a major milestone for the country when the U.S. celebrates its 250th birthday in July 2026. The last major milestone for the U.S. was the country’s 200th birthday in 1976, which was overseen by former President Gerald Ford.
