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The Situation Room

FIFA Firestorm; Trump Addresses Call to FIFA President. Aired 10:30a-11a ET

Aired July 06, 2026 - 10:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[10:30:00]

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Basically, these guy producing, you might as well put them down -- Paul, I think you should mark them down as utilities, because, frankly, in many ways, I'm more impressed by their electric plants.

And they're building them on top of the buildings, alongside of the buildings, stand-alones right next door. But you have to see some of the electric-producing, the generating plants that they're making. Nobody's ever seen -- because they're brilliant people. And it's a fantastic thing.

But if I didn't come up with that idea, maybe somebody else would have. I doubt it, because it's too simple. I mean, it's such a simple idea. Do you know that your friends, Michael, when I came up with that, and I told Mark Zuckerberg, I told Bezos, I told all of the people, A.I., Sam, Elon, I told them all. I said, no, no, I'm going to let you build your own plant, and I'm going to get you fast approvals.

They thought I was kidding. They said -- and they would submit plans without an electric plant. And I'd get calls from Lee Zeldin, who's a star, Environmental, fast approvals, good approvals, but fast. And they call up and say, sir, these plants are not taking advantage.

And I call him and say, why aren't you producing? They said, we thought you were -- every one of them, they thought I was kidding, because they can't believe it. Number one, they can't believe that they're approved in a period of a matter of weeks, because, if this was somebody else, it would be 20 years before -- they're all under construction.

We get -- we do rapid approvals, and some are nuclear plants because nuclear is now really hot and safe. I was not a huge proponent until two or three years ago, and then I saw what they were -- my uncle was a big nuclear guy at MIT. He knew nuclear better than anybody, I think, anybody in the world, probably. He was the smartest guy.

He was at MIT, the head for 41 years. And he said to me one day, he said nuclear is going to be the most important thing, but it's also got to be watched. It's got to be watched very carefully because it can build the world, but it can also destroy the world. He said that.

I said, Uncle John -- that was a long time ago. But he was exactly right. He called it exactly right. But what they have done with nuclear in terms of generating energy is absolutely -- a submarine can run at full speed for 30 years without having to refuel.

The only thing it has to do is come up every 90 days for food. They can't solve -- they can't solve the food problem. But think of it. A submarine, without having to gas up, can run for 30 years at full speed without stopping. I mean, would you -- who would believe a thing like that?

But, fortunately, we have the best technology and we have the best submarines. It's something we lead the world in by 15 years.

Any other questions?

Go ahead.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

TRUMP: What?

QUESTION: I said, thank you so much, Mr. President. (OFF-MIKE)

On the Trump Accounts, SpaceX president has said that she's going to donate shares to the Trump Accounts. Have you spoken at all with Elon Musk about further share donations, as well as other (OFF-MIKE)

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: I speak to everybody.

QUESTION: About share donations?

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: Look, I'm like a cheerleader for geniuses. I love geniuses. I love high-I.Q. people. He's a high-I.Q. person. I love high-I.Q. people. And I speak to Elon. I speak to Mark. I speak to Jeff. I speak to everybody, by the way, in the first term, less so.

In fact, at my first inauguration, none of them were standing behind me. They were just the opposite. And now, at this last inauguration, every one of them was standing behind me. It was sort of amazing.

No, I speak to all of them. And I encourage them. I want them to be tremendously successful. Now, there's a thing called TikTok. Have you heard of it? I was watching a show this morning, Maria Bartiromo. She's fantastic.

And on her show, they were talking about the dangers of TikTok. And it's Chinese, a whole thing with spying and what they're doing with it. Well, except it was announced about two days ago, the new numbers just came out, you know who the number one person on TikTok is by far? Trump, me.

I just got the -- they -- I'm number one. Like, Taylor Swift was number 11. I'm number one in TikTok by far. And the numbers just came out, and I said, well, I'm hearing about how they influence. They're talking about they're a tremendous danger because the influence. But if they influence so badly, I mean, I'm saying all things like I love our country, we got to stop communism, we got to this and that. We're going to do a lot of -- we're doing a lot of things. But I'm by far number one. It was sent to me by -- the list comes out, number one, number two.

I was number one by a lot. So I guess maybe -- I don't know, maybe they're bad, maybe they're not. I know one thing. Great American people, tremendous businesspeople and companies bought it. I called President Xi and everyone said he was a hard no. He was a hard no.

[10:35:07]

But I said it's a good thing for TikTok, but it's good for us too. American companies, great ones, own our TikTok, and it's very influential. But I'm number one by a lot. So I hear this thing was on today. Gordon Chang -- I like Gordon Chang, but he's always so negative.

You know, nobody's been tougher in China than me, but Gordon Chang -- and he's a nice guy. It's like the world is falling down. It's not true. It's not true. We have to be careful because China's a great competitor. But he was talking about, we must stop TikTok.

I'm number one on TikTok. I think it helped me win the election in a landslide, if you want to know the truth.

Yes, please.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

TRUMP: Yes. That's a heli -- yes. So, for 50 years, we have been landing helicopters on grass. The grass is wet, soggy. The helicopters sometimes miss their little mark.

They send people out, Marines. I watch them do it. They march out so beautiful, great guys. They have a piece of metal that he put down. And except for the fact that these pilots are so good, they almost hit the mark all the time. But, sometimes, they miss their -- half the size of this desk.

Think of it. You're landing a big chopper. But, years ago -- and they just got produced, but, during my administration, they ordered brand- new helicopters, the big ones, the ones for president. It's called Marine One. And our other Marine Ones are about 40 years old. They're old, like Air Force One. It's time to make a change.

And other presidents wouldn't do that because they think it's not good to make a change to luxury, but you got to do it. Other countries have them. So, Sikorsky gave -- we ordered a number of Sikorskys as the helicopters back and forth.

Well, they're about 2.5 times more powerful than the old ones. And when you land on the grass, it's not that the grass gets discolored. It gets ripped out, ripped out. And it was all over it. They landed it once, and nobody planned for this. This was a little bit of a planning mistake.

So they landed the helicopter, and half of the grass was sitting in front of the Oval Office front door.

(LAUGHTER)

TRUMP: The rest of it was scattered all over the -- I mean, literally, it didn't singe it. It also singed it, by the way. But it literally lifted -- because of the power. It's tremendous.

And everybody said, well, we will keep using the old helicopters when we have to land at the White House, and for everything else, we use the new helicopters. I said, that's a pretty expensive deal. You wouldn't do that for your company. You would figure out an answer.

So I said -- because I have helicopters, and three of them. And I said -- because they have been great for my business. They -- I think they're incredible, so Sikorskys, Sikorsky 76, right? And I always was lucky. I always got helipads. Other people don't. Very hard to get. The hardest thing to get is a helipad, OK?

There's no harder zoning thing to get is a helipad. And I had like seven of them at different places, so I could go around by helicopter. And I said to the people, have you ever thought -- these are generals, Air Force generals that are brilliant.

And you get used to a certain thing. They bring out the metal, but this was -- now the metal didn't work because the power of these helicopters is so great it ripped up the grass, right? So I said, has anybody ever thought of a helipad? Because I build them. And they go quickly, and it solves all of the problems.

He's laughing. It's true, right? It's crazy. So it was funny. I said, has anyone ever thought of a helipad? I had like six generals in front of me. And they're going like, wow, that's a good idea. It's like the paper clip. It was such a simple invention.

Probably, he says that about a laptop. To him, it's a simple thing. To other people, wow. But the paper clip, 200 years ago, a gentleman came up with the idea for a paper clip. And he made a lot of money, became very rich, not as rich as Michael Dell, but rich, in those money.

And what happened is, everybody was jealous. They said, why didn't we think of this? Same thing with the helipad. So now we're building a helipad, beautiful helipad. And it's got the seal of the White House on it, in granite, in carved granite.

It's really a beautiful thing. And I will tell you, Sikorsky is paying for it. You know why? Because they didn't tell us how powerful these helicopters were, and they felt a little bit guilty. They sold us heli -- we -- look, I like power, by the way. I think it's great for a helicopter.

But they probably -- I don't know, they felt a little guilty, and they are paying for the cost of it. It's about $5 million or $6 million. They're paying the full cost. And when I heard they were paying the cost, I went out and said, let's do a beauty.

[10:40:06]

Let's not just do a piece of concrete and paint it white, which is -- I just put beautiful concrete, nice, and we paint it white. This one is a beauty. It's got the seal of the White House. It's beautiful, the eagle. And it's carved out of granite. It's done by some of the most talented people you will ever meet.

And you're landing on granite, which is the strongest stone, that we can -- like, the outside walk is black granite. It's got -- that's 35,000 pounds per square inch. It's got a one million plus lifetime. It's the strongest stone there is. And that's being used out there, and it's going to be, I think, really beautiful.

And you can see the size. It's going to be beautiful. It's going to -- and it could be used for other things when helicopters aren't landing. You can have other things out there like events, you could have news conferences literally on it because it's the right size.

So, by doing this, we solve the problem and we will be able to finally retire a 45-year-old helicopters.

OK, how about one or two more, and we will get out? Go ahead. Please.

QUESTION: Mr. President, about the FIFA decision, millions of Americans are obviously very happy. But what do you say to the critics who say this sort of precedent with other powerful leaders...

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: Well, I don't know. I mean, I can only say this. I had nothing to do with the decision. What I did have to do is, I said, I think it should be reviewed, because I watched the play.

And he didn't do anything wrong, you know? Got to look at -- by the way, if he did, I'd feel differently, probably, if he punched him in the face, if he did something wrong. I thought, your young, wonderful basketball player Caitlin, I thought that she was treated rather rough, if you want to know the truth. That was a much different kind of an event.

That was pretty bad event. But, in this case, he didn't do anything wrong. Two people ran into each other. And, by the way, if you look at that game, there were 10 instances where it was much rougher than that. So I think -- I think it starts with the fact that it shouldn't have been a foul.

And then you have to look at the person that raised the card, and that's up to you people. You will look at it. But I didn't think it was very good, because it was not good.

And I think that Gianni is brilliant at what he does. And I think they made -- I don't think it was his decision. It's a big committee. And after reviewing it, I think they said, look, it's -- this would -- this game would have a big mark on it if we lost, if we won, no matter what happened. You have to let them use their best players.

And the game tonight's going to be amazing, and we're going to have a full team, and Belgium is going to have a full team. And you know what? If they beat us, then they can be really proud. The other way, if they beat us, we will say it was -- I say it was rigged, just like the election was rigged in 2020. But I won't get into that.

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much. The Trump Accounts are great. Thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: And so the president of the United States in the Oval Office answering reporters' questions for about a half-an- hour or so.

I want to go back to our senior White House reporter, Betsy Klein, at the White House.

A lot of issues, a lot of questions came up, including the big game tonight between the USA and Belgium, and the star player for the U.S., who was not allowed to play, but now is allowed to play because in part the president interfered, intervened with the head of -- with the head of the FEMA and got him back on.

So, what else jumped at you, Betsy?

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Right, Wolf.

This is the first time that President Trump has addressed his call with FIFA head Gianni Infantino, which happened back on Thursday after the star U.S. striker, Balogun, was given that red card and prohibited from participating in this match tonight in the Round of 16 against Belgium.

Now, President Trump did confirm that he spoke with Infantino. A U.S. official earlier today had told me that, during that call, President Trump was simply trying to get a better understanding of why that red card was given, but President Trump making very clear he asked Infantino to review that decision.

And he said he asked for a review because he didn't think it was a foul. He described this incident as two guys running full speed that happened to crash into each other. He also said that he did not tell Infantino what to do, that he can't tell him what to do. He simply asked for a review.

The president was also asked about some of these concerns. This has sparked a political fire storm and questions about the integrity of this tournament going forward. He said: "I had nothing to do with the decision."

He also said he believes that the independent committee made the right decision, as he also called into question the integrity of that referee. He said that the referee was -- quote -- "a little bit suspect" and urged reporters to check his past. He said: "It's very suspect. If you like, I will provide you with that past."

[10:45:01]

Again, this has set off somewhat of a political firestorm. There are a lot of questions about whether Balogun deserved this red card. There's been a lot of debate here about whether this was intentionally reckless. And, in soccer, this is -- by far, I'm not the expert here, but my understanding is, if you could have avoided hurting the other player, you are expected to do so, but a lot of debate as to whether that was intentional or if it was simply an accident.

President Trump making very clear that he felt that this call was very unfair, Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes, he said the referee's decision, and I'm quoting him now, was "horrible, horrible." He used that word. "He didn't do anything wrong.' He's talking about Folarin Balogun, the player for the USA team.

And he said -- he confirmed what we have been reporting now. "I asked for a review by FIFA," and that is what happened. And now Balogun is going to be playing again tonight against Belgium in Seattle at the big, big game later tonight.

Betsy Klein, thank you very, very much.

Let's take a quick break. A lot more coming up, including this: The man accused of killing Charlie Kirk is due in court in the next hour. We have new details on the evidence prosecutors are expected to preview.

Stay with us. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:50:49]

BLITZER: We just heard President Trump talk about FIFA's decision to allow Team USA star Folarin Balogun to play in tonight's World Cup match.

Belgium's football association is now officially appealing that decision.

Let's go out to Seattle. CNN's Coy Wire is on the scene for us. That's where the game will take place later tonight.

Coy, this decision is getting a lot of controversy, some pushback from fans around the world at the same time. Update our viewers.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes.

When this news broke, Wolf, less than 48 hours before kickoff that FIFA overturned Flo Balogun's red card suspension, jaws dropped. Translation is, America's hottest striker is back. It's the first time in men's World Cup history a suspension has been rescinded during the tournament.

The U.S. celebrating the decision. Belgium, let's just say they're not exactly sending FIFA a thank you card. Here's what the coaches had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAURICIO POCHETTINO, U.S. MEN'S SOCCER HEAD COACH: I think we celebrate all that decision. We were punished enough against Bosnia- Herzegovina to play with 10 men; 99.9 percent of we all agree that it was an unfair red card.

RUDI GARCIA, BELGIUM HEAD SOCCER COACH (through translator): I didn't realize that, at FIFA headquarters, July 5 was the equivalent of April 1 in Europe. That was news to me.

The Belgian Football Association isn't defending itself. It's defending football in general, the integrity and ethics.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: All right, Flo is a game changer, leading the U.S. with three goals this World Cup. Suddenly, the conversation isn't about Captain America, Christian Pulisic. It's about Captain Chaos. Balogun has become the nightmare that defenders cannot wake up from.

This American attack is simply better and hit another gear when he's on the field. Now comes the biggest mountain yet for them to climb. The Americans aren't just chasing their third ever World Cup quarterfinal, first since 2002. They're chasing history.

Standing in the way, you have Belgium led by the magician Kevin De Bruyne, the battering ram, Romelu Lukaku, and lightning about fast Jeremy Doku, one of the most dangerous wingers in the tournament. This Belgian squad, their base camp has been right here in Seattle the entire tournament.

So they have some experience here, but there's one thing they have not yet experienced. And that's 70,000 Americans. This field has become a fortress for the U.S. men's national team. They're 7-0 here. They have scored first in every match this World Cup. If they do it again tonight, Wolf, they may register something on the Richter scale.

The fans might need a seat belt, because this place is going to be jumping. I played in this stadium a couple times in my NFL days, once with our Buffalo Bills, Wolf. And it's one of those places, even though you don't like playing an opponent on the road, you like playing here as a player because it gets so loud.

It's just an unreal experience. This tournament has just been so much fun following the U.S. men's national team and this wave of excitement of the fans surrounding them. It's about to get turned up to a whole 'nother level tonight when those lights come on for kickoff. BLITZER: You know, it's interesting, because, like millions of other

people, I watched the actual game. And I watched that incident involving Folarin Balogun when he bumped into the other player.

The president just said, the referee's decision was horrible, he didn't do anything wrong, and that's why he asked for a full-scale review by FIFA.

A lot of people were making a similar point, including right then. Some of the commentators were saying on the air it didn't look like it was a major violation.

WIRE: Yes, it -- and when you watched it back, especially even in slow motion, you could see the intent, the malicious intent was not there. It just seemed to be something that happened so fast in real time.

And when we talked to U.S. Soccer after the match, are you going to appeal this, they e-mailed us back, Wolf, saying, we're not aware of a mechanism by which we can appeal this. If you find out, let us know.

So it seemed early on that this wasn't even going to be in the realm of possibilities. As we know now, it certainly was. And here they are, the U.S. with their best striker back on the pitch tonight.

[10:55:02]

BLITZER: And millions of people will be watching the game later tonight, where you are.

All right, Coy, thank you very, very much.

Coy Wire reporting.

And here's what's coming up all new right at the top of the hour.

Tyler Robinson, the man accused of killing Charlie Kirk, will be in court for a critical hearing.

Plus, Reflecting Pool price tag. How much taxpayer -- how much are taxpayers going to have to pay to shell out to clean up the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool? New information coming in right now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Happening now, breaking news: President Trump just addressed the very controversial red card decision involving a top U.S. player.