Nancy Mace won’t run for Lindsey Graham’s Senate seat
Her decision comes after an unsuccessful run for governor earlier this year, and after President Donald Trump backed Sen. Darline Graham for a full term.
Politics
That’s a wrap
Final whistle. After six weeks, that’s a wrap on our World Cup coverage and live analysis — tracking not the goals and games, but the power plays, political battles and geopolitical stakes shaping the tournament. Thanks for following along.
Will the 2034 cup be in 2035?
Ramadan, Hajj, the Winter Olympics and rising global temperatures are boxing FIFA into an unprecedented scheduling dilemma.
Moroccan and Saudi World Cups draw human rights concerns
FIFA must secure guarantees from the host nations that LGBTQ+ visitors will be protected from prosecution under laws criminalizing homosexuality, advocates say.
The World Cup’s missing country
The 2026 World Cup expanded to 48 teams, but China still couldn’t qualify. Now FIFA is eyeing another expansion — and the billions of fans it hopes China could bring.
It’s Giuliani (extra) time
White House FIFA Taskforce executive director Andrew Giuliani told me on Friday that he wanted this match to go to overtime.
You might have called the overtime, I told him as the players prepared to return to the field after 90 minutes.
“We can thank Martinez for playing out of his mind!!” he texted back, in reference to Argentina’s goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.
Spot the pol!
Study the photograph carefully. Only the political figure is missing. Guess who it is.
All the president’s guests
World leaders, royals and Trump allies join the president in his World Cup suite.
A very Infantino-coded show
Shakira, Madonna, Justin Bieber, BTS and a coitier of other musicians and dancers just wrapped up a very Gianni Infantino coded half-time show at MetLife Stadium. Across the performances, but especially in visual displays on the field, there were snippets of his vision of soccer as a global unifying force.
Dancers carrying colorful globes and flags with hearts on them. A series of letters came together to spell out “LOVE” with an image of the Earth as the “O.”
Much of the halftime show took place atop a tarp covering the whole field with words and phrases in multiple languages, like “Purpose,” “Grow” “Future,” “Inspire,” and “We are all one in the universe.”
Many of the fans stayed in their seats to watch.
FIFA’s soccer-agent rules survive EU court ruling … for now
Two agents challenged several of the world governing body’s laws, arguing they unfairly restrict competition.
The World Cup came to town. The town grew eight times larger.
From East Rutherford to Foxborough, the world’s biggest sporting event landed in some of America’s smallest municipalities — and left mayors to pick up the tab.
‘Professional malpractice’: The Platner fallout engulfs the operatives who made him
A string of early missteps, like rejecting an offer for a deeper vetting of Platner, has cast doubt over his young consultants’ future in Democratic politics.
The nation’s cartoonists on the week in politics
Every week political cartoonists throughout the country and across the political spectrum apply their ink-stained skills to capture the foibles, memes, hypocrisies and other head-slapping events in the world of politics. The fruits of these labors are hundreds of cartoons that entertain and enrage readers of all political stripes. Here’s an offering of the best of this week’s crop, picked fresh off the Toonosphere. Edited by Matt Wuerker.
Abdul El-Sayed on AIPAC spending, ‘Defund the Police’ and why he’s not a socialist
Abdul El-Sayed on AIPAC spending, ‘Defund the Police’ and why he’s not a socialist
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A Trump-backed Arizona candidate faces tough House primary after sex scandals
Mark Lamb, a Trump-endorsed former sheriff running in Arizona’s 5th District, is trying to fend off a challenger pointing to Lamb’s alleged sexual improprieties and abuse of power.
Dems have a big cash advantage in key Senate races
… Except in Maine and Michigan, where the primaries have gotten messy for them.
Trading soccer shirts
Britain’s Trade Minister Chris Bryant said he was texting his Argentinian counterpart, Fernando Brun, ahead of England’s World Cup clash with the champions on Wednesday — and plans to exchange soccer shirts with him.
Speaking to POLITICO in London earlier this week, Bryant said he and Brun had forged a good relationship during trade talks. “I’m quite friendly with him. He’s a really nice guy,” he said. “I’m teasing him. Obviously Argentina’s bound to lose.”
Bryant has been pushing for a free-trade agreement with Mercosur — the South American bloc comprising Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and recent joiner Bolivia — arguing it would be a “no-brainer” after the EU struck its own deal.
The football rivalry, it seems, hasn’t got in the way of the trade relationship.
Gathering of Latino-American politicians shows little love for Argentina
It was easier to pick out England supporters the crowd of Latino pols.
A British diplomat with a diplomatic answer
“Will winning feel better than winning the Falklands War?” our foreign-affairs columnist asks.
Judge handling challenge to Trump immigration halt cites exceptions for World Cup visas
“If the categorical ban on those countries was needed,” the Obama appointee asked, “why did we let the soccer players in?”