Trump talks NATO summit, FIFA phone call during "Trump Accounts" Oval Office event

[0:00] Trump's taking questions, so let's go to that. [0:02] Olivia, stand by. [0:03] About this. [0:04] This is one they have a hard time attacking. [0:07] You know, we're all in this together. [0:09] You have children. [0:10] A lot of those children already, they have their accounts. [0:14] We're going to see tremendous money come in from wealthy people [0:18] and pretty wealthy people and very wealthy companies. [0:21] And I'm getting calls from everybody to put money in. [0:26] And they're going to put tremendous numbers of dollars in. [0:29] And these children are going to have actually accounts. [0:32] They're going to learn about finance a little bit. [0:34] They can watch it. [0:36] We're going to all watch it grow together. [0:38] And we're going to have a whole different planet when they turn 18. [0:43] It's going to be a lot different when you turn 18 [0:45] and you have no idea what's going on and you have no money and no hope. [0:49] They're going to have great hope. [0:50] It's the American dream. [0:51] It's a big part of the American dream. [0:53] So, again, Michael and Susan and Brad and everybody that has worked so hard, [0:59] it's an honor to be, this is truly an honor to be involved [1:03] in something that's pioneering but really not because for so many years, [1:09] I said for many, many years, decades, they've tried to do it. [1:13] They've never been able to pull it off. [1:14] So, I just want to thank all of you guys. [1:16] And I think it's such a great tribute to come together. [1:18] People said, no, no, there must be a mistake. [1:21] You mean you're having separate meetings? [1:24] No, no, just watch at 930, right? [1:27] So, it's a great honor. [1:30] And thank you for being so fair about it. [1:33] So, we'll take a few questions, please. [1:35] Yeah, please. [1:35] Mr. Vladimir Putin, shortly after speaking to you on July 4th, [1:39] struck Kiev and killed innocent civilians. [1:45] Well, I think he does feel pressure. [1:48] He wants to end it. [1:50] And Ukraine wants to end it. [1:52] And we're in talks and we'll see if we can get it ended. [1:54] It's a terrible thing. [1:55] I ended eight wars. [1:58] And this was, in my opinion, going to be an easier one [2:01] because I know both heads. [2:04] I didn't know most of the heads. [2:05] I did India. [2:07] I did Pakistan. [2:08] I did others. [2:09] That could have been a real bad one. [2:10] Nuclear. [2:11] That was going to be nuclear. [2:12] It could have been, as the prime minister of Pakistan, [2:15] could have been 40 million. [2:17] 40 million people would have been killed. [2:20] Maybe 50 million. [2:21] They had shot down 11 planes. [2:23] It was raging for four days, and I got it stopped. [2:27] And I did that. [2:27] But this is one that I think we're getting much closer [2:31] than people realize. [2:32] And President Putin wants it to end. [2:35] I will tell you that very strongly. [2:36] A good call. [2:37] And President Zelensky actually wants it to end now. [2:42] And we're going to be going to NATO, [2:44] and we're going to be talking about it. [2:45] And I think we're going to get it. [2:47] I think we're going to get it ended. [2:48] It's been a terrible situation. [2:50] Think of this. [2:50] Because 25,000 people, two months ago, [2:54] 25,000 people were killed, one-month soldiers. [3:00] Last month, set the record, 36,000 people [3:05] were killed in one month. [3:06] Young soldiers, they go off to war, [3:08] and they're dead before the first weekends. [3:11] It's drone technology. [3:14] Michael, who would have thought that drones [3:15] would have become such a factor? [3:18] They're killing machines. [3:19] It's amazing. [3:20] It's amazing. [3:20] You hide behind a tree, and it goes and gets you. [3:24] And I've seen scenes that I don't want to see. [3:26] I don't want you to see them on that battlefield. [3:29] You know, you hear about the Civil War. [3:30] You hear about all of these different terrible wars. [3:33] But this is really horrible. [3:34] So I had a very good call. [3:37] And I think we're getting close to getting it done. [3:42] President, I'm just going to refocus, it seems, [3:45] to talk about your policies. [3:47] When do you think that message will change the perception [3:50] of Americans related to the economy? [3:51] Well, I think people know. [3:54] Look, oil is now at a level that was, I think it's even lower on a barrel basis [3:59] than it was before we started. [4:02] We've gotten concessions. [4:04] Now, they have to hold those concessions. [4:05] But there'll be no nuclear weapon. [4:07] We're going to be getting the, as I call it, dust, the enriched material. [4:12] Nuclear dust, I call it. [4:13] It seems to have taken off. [4:15] But it's enriched material. [4:17] We're getting it. [4:19] We're getting it. [4:20] I went in for one reason, very strongly, [4:23] that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. [4:26] I'm not looking for regime change, although this is regime change. [4:29] The first regime is gone. [4:31] The second regime is gone. [4:33] And I think the third regime is more reasonable. [4:36] But we'll find out. [4:38] But we've destroyed their, as you know, completely destroyed 150. [4:42] They had 159 ships. [4:44] Every single ship is at the bottom of the sea. [4:47] We've completely destroyed it. [4:49] They don't have one airplane. [4:51] They don't have radar. [4:53] You know, one of the reasons we kept the oil down, [4:55] because a lot of people said, Kevin, [4:58] and a lot of people were saying that oil could go to $300, $350 a barrel. [5:02] But one of the reasons that prediction wasn't right [5:05] is we were taking out on average of 10, [5:08] but sometimes less, sometimes more. [5:10] Three weeks ago, we had a night. [5:12] Twenty-two ships came out of the strait [5:16] and the famous strait of hormones nobody ever heard of. [5:21] But it's some, it is a, that is some big money machine. [5:24] I'll tell you what, when you look at the numbers, Michael, [5:27] that makes everything look small. [5:29] No, wait, wait, wait. [5:30] And we took out so much oil that people didn't know. [5:34] And it was only, it took a month and a half. [5:35] They finally found out. [5:36] They had no radar because their radar was destroyed. [5:39] So we took them out late at night with no lights, no nothing. [5:43] And our great Navy, which did the greatest blockade anyone's ever seen. [5:47] Not one ship got through in two months. [5:49] And we then freed up the blockade because we're close to maybe making a deal. [5:54] I don't know. [5:54] We'll make, either, look, we're going to win one way or the other. [5:57] We're either going to make a deal or we're going to finish the job. [5:59] And it won't be tough to finish the job. [6:03] I'd rather make a deal because I don't want to affect 91 million people. [6:08] We can knock down their bridges in one hour. [6:10] We can knock out their energy supply, all of those big plants that they built, [6:16] big, beautiful, modern plants. [6:18] They had a lot of money. [6:19] They don't have any money now. [6:20] We haven't given them any money. [6:22] But we can knock out their electricity and power generating plants. [6:28] And I would say a small part of an afternoon, every plant will be gone. [6:34] And they know that. [6:36] They know that. [6:38] Please. [6:40] Daniel, go ahead, please. [6:42] Go ahead, please. [6:43] Right behind you. [6:44] You know why? [6:46] He's a friendly voice. [6:47] Go ahead. [6:49] You see? [6:53] That's what I call a record. [6:55] He's actually a great reporter. [6:58] Good. [7:00] Thank you. [7:01] Fast forward to 18 years, R18, and you look at the Trumps, hundreds of them. [7:09] What they'll walk and think about you regarding this program? [7:15] And do you think this will go down as one of the signature policy achievement? [7:19] I hope so. [7:20] I think it will. [7:21] I really believe it's going to be one. [7:22] I think we've done a lot of great things. [7:24] But I think this will be one of the top. [7:26] It's going to teach children to be entrepreneurial as opposed to the threat of communism that you're seeing a lot. [7:34] This is not social democrats, by the way. [7:37] That's a beautiful – we're social democrats, they say. [7:40] They're not social – they're communists. [7:42] They want to destroy our country. [7:44] We're not going to let that happen. [7:45] But this helps, even from the parent's standpoint. [7:48] You know, they see their child getting richer and richer as the market goes up. [7:53] If it goes down, they don't lose anything. [7:55] They make money. [7:57] They have money. [7:58] But if it goes up, they can become actually rich. [8:00] And the parents are going to be watching. [8:03] And we're all going to be watching. [8:04] And we're part of a very big – a very big and very beautiful game. [8:11] It's going to bring them into the mainstream. [8:13] It's going to bring them into recognizing – like Michael Dell. [8:16] I said, how the hell did you start this thing? [8:19] What he built is incredible. [8:20] Now his product is great. [8:22] But as he said, he made them, I guess, laptops. [8:25] He made a better laptop on his bed in a dorm than they sold in the store. [8:30] So he started selling them, I guess, probably during college. [8:33] I don't know where the hell you started selling them, but you sold a lot of them. [8:35] And it just cascaded. [8:38] And then his greatest deal was he met Susan, and she probably guided him beautifully. [8:43] That was probably his most important thing. [8:46] And they have great children, great everything. [8:48] But, you know, it's a beautiful story. [8:51] Think of it. [8:52] They gave $6,250,000,000. [8:58] And there's a rumor he's giving more. [9:00] I don't know if it's true. [9:00] I'm not holding him. [9:01] It's hard to say fake. [9:03] How about doubling up, right? [9:06] But – no, but think of that. [9:07] And started with no money. [9:10] He had a great brain, which is, you know, that's better than money, I think. [9:16] But, you know, it's like an amazing story. [9:19] And that could happen with other people. [9:21] Maybe not to that extent. [9:23] Maybe there could be a few to that extent, but not to that extent. [9:26] But that could happen with some of the people here. [9:28] Some of – some children living in poverty, it could happen. [9:33] And now they have a real chance. [9:34] It's a big thing. [9:35] It's a big thing. [9:36] Yeah, please. [9:37] Can you just have your phone call with Johnny Infantino? [9:41] You're asking me about the whole soccer thing? [9:46] So, yeah, I did. [9:47] I spoke to Johnny, who's highly respected, who's produced the most successful World Cup [9:53] in history by – they say four times. [9:56] This isn't just a success. [9:59] I actually said, Johnny, we've got all these games. [10:02] Each one is turning out to be a Super Bowl. [10:05] And we have all these games. [10:06] You know, when you think of it, every game is like a Super Bowl. [10:08] Yes, I watched last night. [10:10] What a game that was with Mexico and England. [10:14] I mean, two countries. [10:15] I don't know the players. [10:17] Although, I think Kane is a great player. [10:19] See, I played golf with him, and I like him a lot. [10:21] He's a good golfer. [10:21] But he's really great. [10:26] But I watched. [10:27] And no reason for me to watch. [10:30] And you couldn't take your eyes off the game. [10:32] Because I said, Johnny, you know, you have all these games because they edit games. [10:35] In a country where really we don't – it's not our main sport, to put it mildly. [10:41] And this has been four times more successful. [10:43] He told me last night. [10:45] The numbers are four times greater. [10:47] They think 50 or 60 million people are going to be watching the game tonight. [10:50] I mean, you know, these are getting to be Super Bowl numbers. [10:53] But you have a game tonight, and they think they're projecting a minimum of 50 million people [10:59] watching a game – we call it soccer. [11:01] It's called football, I guess. [11:02] But we can't really call it football because it gets a little – there's a little confusion. [11:06] So, yeah, you call it soccer. [11:08] We're the only ones that do that. [11:09] But we have football. [11:10] And football is great. [11:12] But I've never seen anything like it. [11:14] So I saw the play. [11:15] And I'm a person that loves sports and was a good athlete. [11:20] And I understand sports really well, really well. [11:24] And that wasn't a foul. [11:27] That wasn't even an infraction. [11:29] That was two guys running full speed that happened to crash into each other. [11:33] You can't take your foot and properly place it on somebody else's foot when you're going – [11:38] No, these were two great athletes that got tangled up. [11:44] And this referee, who is a little bit suspect, if you check his past – I don't want to say that [11:54] because I don't like to create controversy – but very suspect. [12:00] If you'd like, I'll provide you with the past. [12:03] He made a call that nobody could believe. [12:06] You know, even people on the other side, they say, oh, we got lucky. [12:10] Wow, that's – and it's very interesting. [12:12] They say they don't show them in slow motion. [12:14] And I never realized that. [12:15] I never heard of that before, that they're not allowed to review in slow motion because it's so different. [12:20] Because you'll take one little quarter of a second, and you'll see that a hand is touching a neck or you'll see something. [12:26] Whereas when you see it in fast motion, it will look like two guys collided, which is really what happened. [12:32] They got sort of entangled. [12:36] He didn't do anything wrong. [12:37] And he's our best player or one of our best players. [12:40] A very vital player. [12:41] And he gave him a red card. [12:42] I didn't know what that meant. [12:43] I didn't think it meant much. [12:44] Then I started hearing that that means he can't play in the next game, at least in the next game. [12:51] I said, boy, that's a big – you know, if it happened to another player, it would have been unfair. [12:56] But when they take your best player or just about, they have some great players, but – and they say you can't play. [13:04] That's very unfair. [13:06] That's – you know, it's one thing to penalize somebody for the game. [13:10] But how do you penalize them for a game that hasn't been played yet? [13:13] It's very unfair. [13:14] You can't do that. [13:14] So, yes, I asked for a review by FIFA. [13:20] I spoke to a man who's highly respected. [13:22] And, by the way, whose level of respect has gone up tenfold. [13:27] And he was good before this started. [13:29] But, you know, he really pushed it in this country. [13:31] I'm the one that got them to do it. [13:33] It was not Biden. [13:35] Biden was asleep. [13:36] I got him to do it. [13:37] In fact, it was very sad because I got him to do it. [13:40] And if the progression was normal, I would have been retired. [13:44] Now, the Democrats are saying, man, we should have just let him have his way he would have – we would have had him gone. [13:51] But I said, you know, the saddest thing is I got the Olympics and I got the World Cup. [13:56] And I tried to claim 250 years, too, but that didn't work. [14:01] They said, that one is what it is. [14:03] No, I tried, but it didn't work. [14:04] But wait, wait. [14:05] So I got him. [14:06] I was so proud of it. [14:08] And then I realized, you know, I wouldn't be president during the – because I would have been out of office by that time. [14:13] I felt badly. [14:14] The beautiful thing about what I did is I ran. [14:18] I never thought of it. [14:19] And then all of a sudden I realized, you know, I just got the Olympics. [14:22] And I totally got that myself. [14:24] And I just got FIFA. [14:26] I got that myself. [14:27] We gave a little peace to Canada. [14:28] Gave a little peace to Mexico. [14:29] I got that myself. [14:31] And a lot of people helped, like that man right there, Kevin. [14:35] A lot of people. [14:36] You know that. [14:37] We worked hard on that. [14:38] And we got it. [14:39] But what we didn't know is how successful it was going to be. [14:42] I thought – I didn't know. [14:44] I said, Johnny, is anyone going to show up? [14:46] Because, you know, we're not – again, we're not really – I think soccer is doing much better. [14:51] But I couldn't imagine. [14:53] If you would have said to any very smart of these – like people like this, [14:59] that the numbers they're doing now would be happening, they've never seen anything like it. [15:05] Think of it. [15:06] Take the most successful Olympics or the most successful FIFA, [15:11] and you look at what's happening. [15:12] You look at the numbers for this in the United States, just compared to FIFA. [15:17] And it's numerous times more. [15:22] It's not like 10% more, 2% more, 5% more, which is more expected. [15:26] It's like four times more successful than anything they've ever done. [15:31] In fact, I said to Johnny, let's do it again next time. [15:37] And he said, that would be hard. [15:39] I said, no, no, you do it again. [15:41] But at the same time, you give it to somebody else for the next one. [15:45] I don't know. [15:45] It's a little crazy idea. [15:46] But all I did, all I did, I asked for a review because I didn't think it was a foul. [15:52] And, you know, again, I'm good at this stuff. [15:54] I didn't think it was a foul. [15:56] I thought it was two great athletes that crashed into each other and got entangled. [15:59] That was not a – that was not a guy punching somebody in the face or anything that, you know, [16:04] would be different. [16:04] And I think it's – I think it's a terrible – if they wouldn't allow, you know, a top player, maybe the best, [16:14] maybe among the best players on the team to play, I think it would have had a big stain. [16:20] And I related just that feeling. [16:22] I didn't tell him what to do. [16:23] I can't tell him what to do. [16:24] But – and I don't believe he made the decision. [16:27] I think it was a committee that made the decision. [16:29] And they made the right decision because, number one, it wasn't a foul. [16:32] And you want to see a game with your best players. [16:35] You don't want to say, how would you feel if I took – you know, we take Messi out. [16:41] Look, you know, he ran into somebody. [16:44] Or we took Ronaldo. [16:46] Ronaldo, you bunked into somebody. [16:49] We're going to take you out of a game. [16:50] He's great. [16:51] Well, Harry Kane. [16:52] Harry Kane, we're going to take you out of the game, Harry, because you happen to hit somebody a little bit harder than – you can't – you can't do that. [17:00] And if you would have taken him out, I think – I think it would have really stained this incredible champion. [17:06] We've got to have our best players. [17:08] And they've got – Belgium's got a great team, by the way. [17:11] We have our best players. [17:13] And they have to have their best. [17:14] And if we win or we lose, it's fair. [17:17] Otherwise, let's say we lost him and we lose the game. [17:21] It would be a terrible thing. [17:23] So I think they made a really brilliant decision. [17:26] I think the referee's call was horrible. [17:28] And nobody talks about that. [17:29] They talk about the red card like it's fine. [17:32] Nobody talks about – the referee's decision to – red card. [17:36] I didn't know what the hell a red card was. [17:37] When I found out, I said, you've got to be kidding. [17:39] This guy just hands up. [17:41] Okay, your best player is not going to play next week or in the next game. [17:45] I said, wow, that's a lot of power. [17:47] That's terrible. [17:48] But then I looked at his past and it wasn't so great. [17:53] Okay. [17:56] I didn't think of it, but I would. [18:02] He's a good man. [18:03] And I will tell you this. [18:06] The people in Belgium, if they win the game, they can be very proud. [18:13] If they would win the game with a player missing, it would have been a different feeling. [18:19] You can't do that. [18:20] And I'm very glad – all I did was ask for a review. [18:23] I didn't say, you have to do this. [18:24] This man is a smart, tough man, Johnny Infantino. [18:28] He's a smart, tough man. [18:31] And his stock has gone through the roof because the job he's done has been great. [18:35] And I feel we have to have all the best players in the field. [18:39] You can't take the best players. [18:40] Yeah, please. [18:40] President Trump, thank you. [18:42] Thank you. [18:42] Liam Cosgrove with Zero Hedge. [18:44] What is your plan to facilitate broad adoption of these? [18:48] And you mentioned, you know, the communists issue – [18:50] All right. [18:51] You've been listening to President Trump taking questions from reporters after launching his Trump [18:55] account savings plans from the Oval Office. [18:57] In addition to discussing the decision that led to the controversial World Cup red card reversal, [19:07] the president also mentioned that he spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin. [19:12] He claims that the war with Ukraine is wrapping up sooner, [19:16] though he did claim while he was running for president that he would have ended the war day one. [19:21] I want to bring back CBS News White House reporter Olivia Rinaldi. [19:24] So, Olivia, we can talk about the president's claims that the Ukraine-Russia war is wrapping up soon. [19:32] But let's talk with the news of day. [19:35] This game that's happening later tonight, the United States versus Belgium. [19:38] The president basically admitting that he called Gianni Infantino and asked for a review. [19:44] What's that to you? [19:45] He said I did it. [19:45] He said I did it. [19:47] Yeah, he admitted to it. [19:49] Really confirming a lot of reporting that we have had, other news outlets have had, [19:53] that the president called the head of FIFA and asked him to reconsider or review that red card call [20:00] that took out Balogun for the game tonight. [20:02] President Trump said he didn't tell Gianni Infantino what to do, [20:06] but he did say he asked him to go back and review it. [20:10] He says it was a brilliant decision for them to reverse or, you know, [20:14] push back that suspension of this player so that they can play tonight. [20:18] The president also said you've got to have your best players. [20:20] He said that the Belgian team is a very good team. [20:23] And he also talked about how many people he thinks will be watching the game tonight, [20:27] 50 million, 60 million. [20:30] And he also went on to say that he saw the play. [20:34] And when talking about the play, he said he believed it wasn't a foul. [20:37] The president said that he believed that the player did nothing wrong, [20:42] that these were just two athletes that were tangled up. [20:44] The president also went on to critique the referee, saying that it was a call that no one could believe [20:49] and said that the referee is a bit suspect, adding that there was more evidence to that that he could talk about later, [20:56] but saying that this was a suspect referee and that he did ask for a review of the call in this case. [21:02] The president said, I'm good at this stuff when talking about sports and reviewing calls. [21:06] The president also said, at one point, how would you feel if we took away Messi or Ronaldo or Harry Kane, [21:16] any of the iconic players who are playing in this tournament? [21:19] That's how he likened this U.S. player who was taken out. [21:22] So very notable there that the president admitting that he did ask for a review, [21:28] essentially using his relationship with Gianni Infantino, the head of FIFA, [21:32] to perhaps persuade him and tell him, you know, take another look at this red card call [21:37] and whether or not there's a different decision to be made there about this player playing tonight. [21:43] So this is extremely notable. [21:45] Of course, this is something that doesn't happen very frequently. [21:47] I believe the last time that this type of reversal happened was in 1962. [21:51] So, of course, everyone's eyes will be on the game tonight [21:55] to see if the U.S. is able to fare against Belgium, [21:59] Belgium, who the president says does have a very good team. [22:03] All right. [22:03] Olivia, before you go, I just want to ask you really quickly [22:06] about the president's comments regarding Russia and Ukraine, [22:09] because in that situation, there are real lives involved. [22:13] And the president, once again, reiterating that in his discussion with Vladimir Putin, [22:17] which was reported that he spoke to Putin on July 4th. [22:20] I believe he also spoke to Zelensky on July 4th, [22:22] but that he says that Putin wants to end this. [22:26] We've seen no indication of that. [22:28] In fact, Russia has launched more punishing attacks on Ukraine over the last week or so. [22:35] I note that the president is headed to Turkey for that NATO summit. [22:39] What do you expect out of that summit, given that Putin continues to prosecute this war? [22:44] Well, Ukraine is really going to be front and center of the NATO summit this week. [22:49] The president is expected to meet on the sidelines with Ukrainian President Zelensky. [22:53] Those two have shared a number of phone calls in the last month or so, [22:56] especially as those attacks from Russia have been ramping up, [22:59] even striking inside of Kiev, killing people inside of Kiev. [23:03] We've also seen just a mass amount of casualties on that front line in Ukraine. [23:08] There's some estimates that there's some 30,000 Russian soldiers they're losing per month. [23:13] The president, when talking about this conflict, [23:15] often says he thought it would be the easiest to end, but that's proved elusive to him. [23:20] Of course, he has tried numerous times at diplomacy with both Putin and Ukraine. [23:24] But yeah, he does often say Putin wants to end this war, [23:27] but we have seen no indication of this, especially as they have continued to ramp up those attacks, [23:31] continue to send young men to the front lines in that really neat grinder [23:34] of a stalemate there on the front lines in Ukraine. [23:39] So the president is going to meet with Ukrainian President Zelensky on the sidelines. [23:42] He's also going to meet, of course, with other members of NATO. [23:45] And that's the key topic there, is this war and trying to bolster European defenses. [23:51] European leaders have been working hard to try to calm concerns from the president [23:56] that they are adding more money to their military spending. [24:00] But this is certainly going to be a summit to watch as the president heads there later today. [24:04] All right. Olivia, reporting from the White House, as always, my friend, [24:07] thank you very much. Appreciate you. [24:09] OK, so let's get back to that controversy at the World Cup. [24:13] You just heard the president of the United States admitting that he called the FIFA president [24:16] to review a red car suspension for U.S. player Flo Balagan. [24:20] So let's bring in Lucas Weiss. He's a staff writer at The Athletic. [24:23] So, Lucas, I think what would be good in this moment, because we've been talking about it all morning, [24:27] but one thing we haven't mentioned is that reversals within FIFA are not uncommon. [24:34] The process here is what a lot of people are raising eyebrows, the president of the United States [24:40] calling the head of FIFA. FIFA, there was a game with Ronaldo where he received the suspension. [24:48] He did. It was reversed, but he did sit out that very first game. [24:52] And so this is not uncommon, but it's the process. [24:56] So what happened? [24:57] Right. [24:58] Yeah, 100 percent. Look, Ronaldo, you know, many people thought could have missed the first [25:05] two games of this World Cup. But then, of course, you know, that red card suspension got tabled. [25:10] And look, it hasn't happened since 1962 that a red card has been rescinded. [25:15] That player has allowed to play in the World Cup. [25:18] But I just think, guys, it just raises this question of suspicion. [25:22] Right. The fact is, we just saw President Trump right now confirm the athletics reporting that [25:28] he that he called Johnny Infantino. But it wasn't just President Trump. There were other U.S., [25:34] you know, you know, U.S. government was getting involved with lawyers. Howard Lutnick was involved. [25:39] So, you know, there was this involvement. It just raises the question of this coziness between [25:45] President Trump and FIFA President Johnny Infantino. And this is stemmed back from [25:49] FIFA having an office at the Trump Tower, Johnny Infantino relocating the draw ceremony from Las [25:57] Vegas to the Trump Kennedy Center, even having Trump have the FIFA Peace Prize, the playing YMCA [26:03] at the draw ceremony. So the list continues to go on. Look, the contents of that call have not been [26:09] made public. We may never know the contents of that call. But currently, the perception right now [26:14] is that there is alleged favoritism going on and alleged political intervention, as President [26:20] Trump called Johnny Infantino. We don't know the the extent of which that call influenced Johnny [26:26] Infantino, but it does raise suspicion. You know, what's interesting to me is we had [26:31] Marcelo Balboa on earlier in our program, Lucas, and he talked about what this moment has been like, [26:37] perhaps for Team Belgium, a team that in the wake of that red card would have been preparing for a [26:44] game without Balogun. Now, of course, their whole strategy is changing. And I just wonder what this [26:50] moment is like for them and whether the U.S. could actually defeat Belgium without Balogun. [26:57] Well, look, the Belgium manager called it, you know, he asked if this was April Fool's Day [27:02] yesterday in terms of whether or not what was going on. Look, Belgium has every right to be upset. [27:09] There have been other people upset at this. The Norway manager called this out. Ray Wayne Rooney, [27:15] former English national team player, called this a disgrace. I mean, the U.S. men's national team [27:20] also has to adjust things because I think Pochettino, their manager, didn't expect Balogun to play. So they [27:26] have to adjust things as well. And look, it's going to raise even more questions and stir if Balogun [27:34] scores tonight and the United States men's national team wins and advances the quarterfinal. And look, [27:41] all I'll say, guys, is that it's just sad, right? Because the U.S. men's national team was creating a really [27:47] feel-good story. They had just won their first knockout stage game since 2002. They're trying to get to the [27:53] quarterfinals for the first time since 2002. And now the legacy of this team's tournament, [28:00] rightfully or wrongly, is this story right now. And it's just a shame for them. It's a shame for [28:06] Belgium and for soccer fans, too, that want to watch this sport and see it with integrity, [28:13] see it with fairness. And this whole decision, in my opinion, has not set a great precedent. [28:18] Yeah, it's such an excellent point, Lucas. I mean, we did, you, we at CBS did tons of stories [28:24] about how all of these fans from all over the world came to the United States and found that [28:28] the narrative that they perhaps believed about us, you know, that we were not friendly or, [28:34] you know, all the stuff that they've seen. We got great ranch depth. [28:36] Yeah, they, they, they, you saw all those stories of people saying, oh, the U.S. is great. [28:40] Actually had a great experience. Yeah, had a great experience. And yet now with this, [28:44] people go, oh, right. This is America. [28:49] This is why, you know, people think of us as bullies or, you know, babies who, you know, [28:54] cry when we don't get what we think we deserve. And so you're right. It's going to put a, [28:58] I think an asterisk on an incredible U.S. team and an incredible player, Flo Balogun, [29:04] who's got a long, great future ahead of him. But now you've got this, this veneer of, [29:08] of, of ugly politics injected into it. All right. We'll see what happens tonight. [29:13] We'll all be watching. Lucas, thank you very much, my friend. Appreciate it. Thank you.