The New York Post is currently facing online ridicule from liberals and progressives after the conservative tabloid claimed that Donald Trump received “huge applause” at Sunday’s FIFA World Club final, which saw the president roundly booed both before and after the contest.
In what is seen as something of a test run for next year’s World Cup, which the United States is hosting alongside Canada and Mexico, the world’s best club soccer teams have spent the past few weeks playing in cities across the country, culminating in Sunday’s final at MetLife Stadium, New Jersey.
“That’s why many world leaders and sports fans have been scrutinizing the club games for on- and off-field clues about America’s ability to host,” the Washington Post noted. “The skepticism is driven by concerns over whether a president who has taken actions to close America’s borders and imposed wholesale bans on residents from some countries can host a quadrennial celebration of global camaraderie and athleticism.”
Trump’s presence at Sunday’s finale between Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain, therefore, was met with quite a bit of resistance from soccer fans. While there was a smattering of cheers and chants of “USA! USA!” from nearby attendees when the president and First Lady Melania Trump were first spotted in their suite, the stadium erupted in jeers when the jumbotron showed him during the national anthem, prompting the camera to quickly pan away.
The 80,000 fans also made their displeasure with Trump known following Chelsea’s victory, showering the commander-in-chief in boos as he made his way onto the pitch with FIFA chief Gianni Infantino to present the trophy. The stadium music eventually drowned the crowd out.
The trophy presentation also included a bizarre moment when the president remained on stage with the team as they posed for a victory photo, leading some players – such as Chelsea captain Reece James and star winger Cole Palmer – to express confusion over Trump awkwardly crashing their celebration.
While social media was awash with videos of the MetLife crowd loudly booing the president, the Post – owned by right-wing media mogul Rupert Murdoch and a corporate cousin of Fox News – attempted to give a positive spin to the reaction Trump received at the championship match.
“President Trump and first lady Melania arrive at MetLife Stadium to huge applause for FIFA Club World Cup final,” the Post headlined its story on the president’s appearance.
Despite the article’s title boasting that Trump and his wife were met with a warm reception, the piece itself did not contain any mentions of the supposed “huge applause” for the president outside of a caption for one of the photos within the body of the story.
“President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump arrived at the FIFA Club World Cup final in MetLife Stadium Sunday, getting a preview of the even grander soccer tournament the US is set to host next year,” New York Post politics reporter Ryan King wrote, adding: “The president and first lady were seen waving to the crowd as they took their seats to watch the big game.”
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With the right-wing tabloid promoting the article on social media with the same headline, it didn’t take long for critics to call out the paper for trying to cover for the president while misleading its readers.
“LAUGHING STOCK!!! The New York Post is getting clowned online after falsely claiming Trump received “huge applause” at the FIFA Club World Cup Final—when in reality, he was loudly booed by the crowd,” anti-Trump digital media outlet MeidasTouch tweeted, adding that the Post was “desperately trying to defend Donald Trump as his Epstein scandal tanks his approval.”
“Is the ‘huge applause’ in the room with us now? Because here’s what actually happened,” liberal podcaster Brian Tyler Cohen snarked, sharing a field-level video from Agence France-Presse correspondent Danny Kemp of the stadium raining down boos on Trump.
“By ‘huge applause,’ they mean ‘lots of boos,’” finance journalist James Surowiecki quipped, while author Tom Watson added: “He was brutally booed.”
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