While Donald Trump’s tough stance on “rapist” Mexican immigrants may have seen him surge in the polls, it could come at a cost to the United States men’s soccer team.
A Mexican television station has used Trump’s controversial comments on Mexico – he also referred to the country’s immigrants as “drug dealers” – as part of an advertisement for the Mexico-USA match on 10 October.
The advert, created by TV Azteca, splices together clips of Trump’s various derogatory remarks about Mexico with footage of the country’s players scoring goals and excelling. It also uses Trump’s statement, made at the launch of his campaign, that America is in “serious trouble” – alongside clips of the USMNT conceding goals and generally looking glum.
Trump, according to himself, has a venerable sporting history. He told MTV in 2010 that as a 17-year-old he “loved sports”.
“I was always a good athlete,” he revealed. “I played football, baseball, soccer. I wrestled. I think the thing I liked the best was baseball.”
In the interview Trump revealed that he was captain of the baseball team and was “supposed to be a professional baseball player” before opting instead for a career in real estate. He has also said he is good friends with New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.
His physical prowess appears to have waned soon after. He failed an armed forces medical examination in 1968, aged 22. The reason for Trump failing the physical were not disclosed, although he later attributed it to bone spurs in his feet.
