It was evident that Chelsea football stars Cole Palmer and Reece James were fairly confused when US President Donald Trump unexpectedly joined them for the team's historic Club World Cup triumph celebrations. The team victoriously achieved a 3-0 win against Paris St-Germain at the MetLife stadium in New Jersey, however, their iconic trophy lifting ritual was crashed by the president, who was eager to remain present for the ceremony.

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Trump handed the trophy to Chelsea captain Reece James before FIFA president Gianni Infantino politely asked him to step aside. Despite multiple attempts to usher him to the side, Trump stood firmly next to James and goalkeeper Robert Sanchez, clapping as James lifted the trophy. He remained on stage for a few moments before eventually leaving with Infantino. During a press conference, James later explained: "They told me that he was going to present the trophy and then exit the stage, and I thought that he was going to exit the stage, but he wanted to stay. He just congratulated me and the team for lifting the trophy and told us to enjoy the moment."

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Chelsea forward Cole Palmer, who scored twice in the final, further expanded, saying: "I knew he was going to be here, but I didn't know he was going to be on the stand when we lifted the trophy. I was a bit confused, yes."

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The final of the new, larger-format Club World Cup took place at MetLife Stadium with a crowd of 81,118 and featured elaborate pre-match and half-time entertainment. Trump was met with boos from the crowd when he appeared on the stadium's video screens during the national anthem ahead of the match, and again later as he walked out with FIFA president Gianni Infantino to present trophies, awards, and medals. After the game, Trump and Infantino carried the Club World Cup trophy together toward the Chelsea players on stage. While Infantino stepped out of the camera’s view, Trump remained in full shot as Chelsea captain Reece James lifted the trophy and his teammates celebrated around him.

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The final of the newly expanded Club World Cup, designed to determine the top club team in the world, began at 3pm local time. The most direct U.S. link came through Chelsea, whose ownership group is led by American billionaire Todd Boehly. He joined Trump, Infantino, and PSG chairman Nasser al-Khelaifi on stage after the final whistle. Trump’s motorcade entered through a private entrance near the players’ tunnel, and he and his team exited under a curtained tent roughly half an hour before kick-off. Unlike earlier matches where the U.S. national anthem was played an hour before the game, this time it was moved closer to kick-off to align with Trump’s arrival. When Trump was shown standing for the anthem on the big screens, sections of the crowd responded with loud boos that lasted several seconds.

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TSB commenters found the footage of Donald Trump overstaying his welcome during the celebrations comical, with some commenters expressing a fondness for the president's unapologetic nature. Others found Cole Palmer's comments particularly humorous, with one commenter saying, "Cole Palmer is the realest" and another saying "Cole Palmer is so unintentionally funny". Others were less pleased with James and Palmer's responses, with one follower commenting, "they talking at the press conference but they didn’t say it to his face". Another commenter even compared the footage to the cringeworthy moment where famous chef, 'Salt Bae', notoriously crashed celebrations at the World Cup final in 2022.

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During a half-time interview, Trump said he was "having a really great time".

In a longer interview aired later that day, he said: "Gianni is a friend of mine, he's done such a great job with the league and with soccer - or as they would call it 'football', but I guess we call it soccer. I'm not sure that change could be made very easily.

"But it's great to watch - and this is a little bit of an upset that we're watching today, isn't it?"

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When asked if he might issue an executive order to rename the sport "football", Trump smiled and responded: "I think we could do that. I think I could do that."

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The 2026 men’s World Cup will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

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