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President Donald Trump went on a frenzied social media spree on Sunday, firing off more than 100 Truth Social posts, but only a handful addressed his rocky America 250 party.

Appearing to have a lot on his mind following a turbulent Independence Day celebration in Washington DC on Saturday, Trump’s posts careered from complaints about communism and boasts about his TikTok stats to a string of defences for the “crystal clear” Reflecting Pool that’s created weeks of controversy on the National Mall.

Trump showed off banners featuring himself and former President George Washington on the front of the Interior Department’s building, one tagged “America’s First” and the other “America First.”

He also lashed out at US District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan and her decision to block his plans to use a Department of Homeland Security database containing sensitive personal information to vet voter eligibility.

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As the afternoon went on, Trump continued to flood his feed with more random posts, including commentary about boxer Mike Tyson’s 1990 bout with Henry Tillman, a racially-insensitive photoshop of former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama on a graffiti-covered Air Force One, and an image of his frenemy, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, giving him doe-eyes with the text “Restraining order needed” on top.

On Sunday evening, Trump pretended to be a hero, claiming the July 4th “Salute to America 250” celebration was canceled until he stepped in to save the day. In reality, the National Park Service had ordered attendees to shelter in place around 7:15 p.m. Saturday, due to safety concerns about severe weather. After about a three-hour delay, guests were invited back to the National Mall to hear the president speak and watch the fireworks.

“When I heard that it was cancelled, I immediately overturned that decision, and waited a while for people to come back,” he wrote, along with a typo-tinged addendum that proclaimed, “it was an even more spectacular evening than it would have been as normalised!”

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The campaign to keep Folarin Balogun on the field for the United States’ World Cup run began just minutes after the team’s leading goal-scorer received a red card that would sideline him for the team’s next match.

Following Wednesday’s victory against Bosnia and Herzegovina, White House FIFA World Cup Task Force executive director Andrew Giuliani alerted President Donald Trump to Balogun’s punishment for a rash tackle — removal from the Bosnia match and a routine one-match suspension that would keep him out of a must-win encounter against Belgium.Trump and Giuliani had been speaking regularly about the World Cup for months. During the planning stages for the tournament, the president received frequent briefings on logistics, security and the U.S. team’s prospects. Once the competition began in mid-June, those conversations accelerated to multiple times each week.

By Wednesday night, the White House had committed itself to taking action over Balogun’s red card, which some soccer analysts believed to be a harsh punishment for the infraction. Giuliani, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and senior U.S. Soccer Federation officials — all of whom had watched the Bosnia match in person at Levi’s Stadium near San Francisco — began activating plans to challenge the referee’s on-field decision to issue a red card. Successful appeals of World Cup red cards are exceedingly rare.

That kicked off four days of coordinated lobbying, legal maneuvering and diplomacy that stretched from the Oval Office to FIFA’s headquarters in Zurich — and underscored how invested Trump’s inner circle had become in the second World Cup hosted on U.S. soil and the fortune of the U.S. men’s national team competing in it. POLITICO spoke to a half-dozen U.S. government and soccer officials who were either directly involved in or briefed on the week’s events.

On Sunday, a day before the U.S. was due to face Belgium with Balogun on the bench, FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee announced that it was suspending Balogun’s one-match suspension for a year. Trump thanked FIFA for “doing what was right and reversing a great injustice.” The Royal Belgian Football Association and European confederation UEFA, of which Belgium is a member, are considering taking action against the FIFA ruling, according to a high-ranking UEFA official granted anonymity to discuss ongoing deliberations.

On Thursday, Trump placed a call to FIFA President Gianni Infantino. The two men had built a friendship over nearly eight years, with Infantino becoming a frequent visitor to the Oval Office during Trump’s second term. They remained in contact even when events put U.S. government policy in conflict with FIFA’s objectives, according to people familiar with their relationship. That included when the Trump administration launched military strikes against Iran in February, jeopardizing the country’s ability to compete in the World Cup — a personal history that mattered when Trump dialed Infantino about the Balogun matter.

Trump asked about FIFA’s rules around the red card decision and the grounds for a suspension. Infantino listened carefully but made no promises about the outcome. FIFA declined to confirm any specific discussions but reiterated to POLITICO that the decision to suspend the one-match ban was made by an independent disciplinary committee.

As U.S. Soccer’s legal team formally prepared and submitted its appeal to FIFA, Giuliani and Lutnick also offered to make White House attorneys available to assist with legal analysis if needed, according to people involved in the discussions.

At the same time, Giuliani and Scott Goodwin — a hedge-fund manager who had helped to personally pay the salary of U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino — zeroed in on the officiating history of referee Raphael Claus, who made the red card call on Wednesday. Articles examining previous controversies involving the Brazilian referee circulated among senior government officials as they evaluated every possible argument that could bolster the appeal, according to sources familiar with the discussions.

The matter quickly rose through FIFA’s legal and disciplinary channels. Emilio García, who oversees the legal affairs of soccer’s global governing body, became a central figure in advising Infantino on the available procedural options, according to people familiar with the process. García and other FIFA officials worked to determine whether the circumstances around Balogun’s tackle met the narrow standards that would allow the disciplinary decision to be revisited.By Sunday, the answer had arrived. FIFA announced that Balogun’s one-match suspension would be suspended, clearing him to play in the United States’ next match. Many, including European soccer officials, argued that the White House’s involvement violated FIFA’s policies about insulating sporting decisions from political influence.

“In order to safeguard the legitimate rights of all participating teams and to protect the fundamental principles of fair play in our sport, both at this FIFA World Cup and at future editions of the tournament, the RBFA is investigating all potential options,” the Belgian association said in a statement released after the ruling.

FIFA insists that the decision was an independent one made by its 18-person disciplinary committee, but it would not say whether the decision was decided through a vote. Unlike other decisions made by the committee, FIFA has not published a report on the decision.

Soon afterward, Trump and Infantino spoke again. They are expected to jointly award the World Cup trophy to the tournament’s winning team after the final match, on July 19.

Tim Röhn contributed to this article.

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BRUSSELS — Even before they face off tomorrow night in Seattle, Belgium and the the United States are already at loggerheads over America’s birthday celebrations.

U.S. Ambassador to Belgium Bill White insisted that Brussels’ historic Parc du Cinquantenaire was left spotless after his lavish festivities marking 250 years of American independence, as Belgian authorities probe whether fireworks damaged one of the capital’s historic buildings.

“We are in immediate contact with the Belgian company that was hired to coordinate all event logistics, including the fireworks company,” White wrote on X on Friday. He said the contractor would “remediate where it is required” and insisted that “Cinquantenaire has never looked any cleaner than it was the day after we cleaned up after our event,” posting photographs of the park looking immaculate.

More than 8,800 invited guests attended the June 28 celebration — one of the biggest diplomatic receptions ever staged in Brussels — organized by White, featuring a large fireworks display beneath the triumphal arch and a gala held in Cinquantenaire’s Royal Museum of Art and History building.

The ambassador’s response came after Flemish newspapers De Standaard and Het Nieuwsblad reported that Belgium’s Buildings Agency had opened an investigation into possible damage to the museum.

The Building Authority confirmed that “fireworks debris was found on the roof, and certain limited areas of the roof appear blackened” in a statement to POLITICO, adding that “analyses are still ongoing” before being able to comment on the scope of any repair work.

Belgian Buildings Minister Vanessa Matz has urged caution, saying investigators must first determine whether any damage was caused by the fireworks display or by the severe thunderstorm that swept across Brussels the previous night.The celebration reportedly cost around €5 million, with White raising the money from roughly 220 Belgian and American companies.

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BRUSSELS — FIFA’s decision to lift U.S. striker Folarin Balogun’s one-match ban — freeing him up to play against Belgium in Monday’s World Cup round-of-16 match on Monday this week — has not gone down well in the European nation.

Coverage from Belgian national broadcaster RTBF of the match between Brazil and Norway was distracted, with half-time chatter focusing on the FIFA ruling rather than the game that was underway.

After the closing whistle, the broadcaster showed that Balogun had been third choice for “darling of the match” — despite the fact that the U.S. team was more than 2,000 miles away from where the match in question was played. Balogun received 17 percent of the votes submitted by viewers.

Players on the MetLife Stadium pitch did claim the top two spots, though. Double goal scorer Erling Haaland placed second behind goalkeeper Ørjan Nyland, as Norway dumped five-time champions Brazil out of the competition.

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Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick was involved in behind-the-scenes conversations with FIFA to get U.S. striker Folarin Balogun’s red-card ban suspended, according to two people familiar with the matter granted anonymity to discuss private deliberations.

Lutnick has developed close ties with the leadership of soccer’s governing body. He attended a previously unreported dinner in early June with FIFA President Gianni Infantino, senior adviser Carlos Cordeiro and a small group of roughly half a dozen attendees, according to the two people.

The dinner underscores the unusually close relationship FIFA has cultivated with Trump administration officials beyond President Donald Trump himself. Lutnick, in particular, has developed a personal rapport with Infantino, hosting the FIFA president in his Commerce Department office and sitting beside him at the match between the U.S. and Bosnia and Herzegovina last week where Balogun received the red card.

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Patriotism has become partisan.

It doesn’t matter that people across the ideological spectrum are equally likely to say that they themselves are patriotic. New international polling shows that when you ask them about expressions of patriotism, they think those displays are right-coded.

Those results from The POLITICO Poll reveal the extent of right-wing populist parties’ success after years of claiming nationalism as central to their political identities — and growing in power and popularity.

The political parties furthest to the right across several major Western democracies were consistently more associated with national pride than other parties, the poll found. A 29-percent plurality of U.K. adults, for example, said they would expect someone who said they were “proud to be British” to support Nigel Farage’s right-wing populist Reform U.K., 16 points greater than the 13 percent who would expect them to be from the center-right Conservative Party. Similar pluralities said the same in France about Marine Le Pen’s Rassemblement National, or National Rally (30); in Germany about Alternative for Germany, or AfD (35); and in Spain about Vox (29).

In the United States’ two-party system, respondents were 15 points more likely to expect someone who said they were proud to be American to be Republican (38) than Democratic (23).

The findings are the latest sign that these parties — from Donald Trump’s “America First” movement in the United States to the rise of the far right across Europe — are owning the language and symbols of patriotism, including a country’s flag.

Right-wing parties have rapidly gained ground by tapping into voters’ growing concerns over border security and cost of living, and have flexed their power over the last decade, reshaping existing debates over conservatism, sovereignty and national identity. In some cases, they have pushed major political parties, like America’s GOP, further to the right.

But even as the politics of patriotism have shifted toward the right, the poll found that pride in one’s country is essentially nonpartisan.

Majorities of adults across the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany and Spain all say they are proud of their country. In the U.S., 68 percent of adults — including most Trump 2024 voters and former Vice President Kamala Harris voters — say they are proud to be American.

The June survey, conducted by London-based Public First, shows the challenge for centrist and left-leaning parties that are weighing how to reclaim overt symbols of patriotism — or redefine what patriotism means for them.

Kevin Madden, a longtime GOP communications strategist in Washington, said the findings reflect the rising tide of hyper-partisanship.

“Political polarization is coloring views through a left-right, us-versus-them political lens,” he said. “That lens changes based on whether [people’s] preferred party is in charge or not.”

Far-right parties embrace politics of national pride

Debates over immigration, sovereignty and cultural flashpoints across the West have increasingly turned into fights over what a nation stands for — and who that includes, and who gets to define it.

In the United States, Trump’s “America First” agenda and “Make America Great Again” movement have explicitly made national identity central to Republican messaging. The president has vowed to secure the southern border, conduct widespread deportations and prioritize aggressive trade politics aimed at boosting the U.S. economy.

The POLITICO Poll found that Trump’s rhetoric is very popular among the right in Europe. When asked how they would feel about a candidate who promised to “Make [their country] Great Again,” far-right respondents across the countries — including 70 percent in Reform U.K., 68 percent in France’s National Rally, 66 percent in Germany’s AfD and 77 percent in Spain’s Vox party — said it would make them feel more positive about that candidate.

That comes as those parties have similarly centered campaigns on immigration, borders and cultural identity, presenting themselves as defenders of their nations.

In Germany, expressions of national pride are often viewed through the lens of the country’s Nazi past. For decades after World War II, overt displays of patriotism — including flying the German flag from homes, porches and balconies — were widely regarded as distasteful. This was particularly true on the political left, where patriotism was often considered legitimate only insofar as it was grounded in Germany’s rejection of nationalism and its country’s reckoning with the Holocaust.

But a political movement based on restoring national pride and a sense of past glory has taken root in the far-right AfD party, which actively campaigns to instill patriotism in German youth. In the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt, where the AfD is far ahead in the polls ahead of a regional election set for September, the party’s platform calls for an end to “the perpetuation of a guilt complex” among Germany’s youth and advocates a renewed “call for patriotism.”

That comes through in The POLITICO Poll, which found that a 44 percent plurality of AfD supporters say that people in Germany aren’t proud enough of the country’s history, significantly greater shares than in other parties. AfD voters were also much more likely than others to say they would think positively of someone who said they were “proud to be German.”

France, too, has been a battleground in the war over patriotism, as Le Pen and her party have centered anti-immigration and French national identity. The Euroskeptic National Rally has become so associated with the French tricolor flag that as the campaign for next year’s presidential election gets underway, leftist candidates are saying they must claw back national symbols from populists who have co-opted them.

In the U.K., Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s centrist left Labour Party won a landslide election victory in 2024, partly through a very deliberate strategy of rebranding itself as a patriotic movement. The Union Jack flag was added to every party communication, and members were required to sing the national anthem at Labour’s annual conference. Party bosses focused on 40 percent of the electorate whom they termed “hero voters” — these were usually middle-aged, working-class people who supported Brexit. They were patriotic and proud of Britain, and tended to feel neglected by mainstream politicians.

But after less than a year in power, Starmer’s Labour had lost support among many in this group and fallen below Nigel Farage’s populist nationalist Reform U.K. in the polls. Another year later, his continuing nosedive in popularity — and a Labour wipeout in local elections in May — forced him to resign.

Meanwhile, the far right is gaining more traction. British nationalist activist Tommy Robinson, who has draped his “Unite the Kingdom” marches in flags and pushes anti-Islam views, is widely seen in a negative light by British voters but enjoys notable support among Reform U.K. supporters, Public First polling found earlier this year.

Can the left reclaim patriotism?

For parties on the political left, the problem is not that their voters reject patriotism.

Majorities of adults across the countries surveyed say they are proud of their country, and they are far more likely to respond positively than negatively toward a political candidate who said they loved their country and were proud to live there.

In the United States, for example, a 45 percent plurality of Harris voters said they would feel more positively toward such a candidate. In the U.K., 47 percent of Liberal Democrats and a 53 percent plurality of Labour supporters say they would feel more positively.

The challenge for these parties is that some of the overt symbols of patriotism — such as displaying a national flag, or even owning one — have become more closely associated with conservative parties.

“As much as these results show the political right having success in claiming patriotic language, they also show left parties abandoning a political message that has potential,” said Seb Wride, head of polling at Public First. “This is easier terrain for the left than party leaders think, given the pride we see across the spectrum.”

Across several of the world’s major democracies, there’s a brewing movement underway to try to reclaim patriotism from the far-right parties.

England’s St. George’s flag — a red cross on a white background — has long been used to show support for the national soccer team. It has also been associated with nationalism and racist political movements in the U.K.

But recently, some football fans have taken to displaying the flag with the viral phrase “Football not Farage” — an effort to show their frustration with right-wing politicians co-opting the symbol for their political cause at a time when it is being used to celebrate the nation’s participation in the World Cup.

In the U.S., Democratic lawmakers and candidates are leaning more deliberately into patriotic themes, even if they emphasize them differently than Republicans do. Rather than focusing on flags and traditional patriotic imagery, many have highlighted their military service and sense of civic duty. A number of Democratic House candidates who are also veterans, for instance, are touting their service and commitment to the country in ads and on campaign websites.

Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a leading figure in the progressive movement, told TMZ that “we need to be focusing a lot more on how all of us are American,” when asked about the nation’s flag and how it is typically more associated with Republicans.

“America is not whoever is in charge right now. To me, my understanding of our country is all of the great people and movements that are a part of it,” she said, later adding: “The immigrant story is one of the most American stories that we have.”

Tim Ross, Joshua Berlinger, James Angelos and Hanne Cokelaere contributed reporting.

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