Transcript - Remarks: Donald Trump Meets with the President of FIFA - August 28, 2018 | Factba.se

Donald Trump

00:00:00 - 00:00:22 (23 sec)

Well, thank you very much. We very much appreciate the fact that we have won a very important event: the World Cup in 2026. And we'll be hosting it along with Mexico and Canada. And it's a very special event. I think it's probably certainly one of the biggest, and maybe the biggest sporting event in the world.

Donald Trump

00:00:22 - 00:00:32 (10 sec)

And soccer has come such a long way. Soccer is a game -- I guess you call it "football." But, over here, maybe at some point, they'll change the name. I'm not sure, but we'll see.

Gianni Infantino

00:00:32 - 00:00:34 (2 sec)

Let's see. Let's see. We can negotiate that.

Donald Trump

00:00:34 - 00:00:51 (17 sec)

But it's working very well either way. But I just want to thank Gianni Infantino for being here. He's the president of FIFA and a highly respected man. In fact, when my son heard he was going to be here, he said, "Dad, I'd like to meet him." So you're pretty famous, right? Pretty important and pretty famous.

Gianni Infantino

00:00:51 - 00:00:52 (1 sec)

Yeah, it looks like it.

Donald Trump

00:00:52 - 00:01:03 (12 sec)

He likes -- my son, Barron, loves soccer. And soccer has to be one of the fastest-growing sports in the world. And the job you've done is really fantastic, Gianni. So thank you very much.

Donald Trump

00:01:03 - 00:01:28 (25 sec)

And I want to also pay my respect to Carlos Cordeiro, who -- as president, in this country, of soccer -- has been incredibly instrumental in helping us to get the World Cup. And he's worked so hard, so long. And they were calling me constantly to try to get me to come onboard, but it only took one call because when I heard "World Cup," I wanted to do it.

Donald Trump

00:01:28 - 00:01:40 (12 sec)

And again, we want to thank you. It's all signed up. It's all set to go. And it'll be a special event. I think it's going to be something, really, very special. And, Gianni, maybe I'd ask you to say a few words, and then Carlos.

Gianni Infantino

00:01:40 - 00:02:01 (21 sec)

Definitely. Well, thanks. Thanks, President, for welcoming us here. It's a great honor to be here. And thanks for everything you are doing to support our sport as well. Obviously, 2026, the World Cup -- biggest event -- sporting event for sure, but probably even social event in the world.

Gianni Infantino

00:02:01 - 00:02:15 (13 sec)

We just had the World Cup in Russia. More than 4 billion viewers. The final only -- over 1 billion viewers. It's massive. It's huge. So, in Russia, President, we said that you would organize the best World Cup ever. Right?

Donald Trump

00:02:15 - 00:02:15 (1 sec)

Gianni Infantino

00:02:15 - 00:02:17 (2 sec)

And we did organize the best World Cup ever.

Donald Trump

00:02:17 - 00:02:18 (1 sec)

Gianni Infantino

00:02:18 - 00:02:24 (6 sec)

In the U.S., together with Canada and Mexico, we want to organize the greatest World Cup ever, if you agree.

Donald Trump

00:02:24 - 00:02:25 (2 sec)

Right, okay. Well, we'll do it.

Gianni Infantino

00:02:25 - 00:02:34 (8 sec)

And for this, we will work together and do whatever we can to make sure that this be a fantastic event. But I'm looking very, very much forward -- and the world is looking that much forward to that.

Donald Trump

00:02:34 - 00:02:39 (5 sec)

It's very exciting. Everybody is talking about it, and it's very exciting. And Carlos.

Carlos Cordeiro

00:02:39 - 00:03:00 (21 sec)

Well, Mr. President, thank you for hosting us today. For my part, for my federation -- the U.S. Soccer Federation for the United Bid representing the U.S., Canada, and Mexico -- we are really very honored. Very honored. Deeply honored to be hosting this event in 2026. It's right around the corner. We have a lot for work to do, but we look forward to working with you and your administration.

Carlos Cordeiro

00:03:00 - 00:03:12 (12 sec)

Let me also thank you, Mr. President, for your help and support throughout the campaign -- your written assurances and warranties. I think without out that we wouldn't have won quite such a convincing victory. So thank you very much for that.

Donald Trump

00:03:12 - 00:03:35 (23 sec)

Well, thank you, Carlos. And I have to also thank Bob Kraft, who I know that you were working very hard with. Bob originally called me and he said, "What do you think of the idea of trying to get the World Cup to the United States?" And I said, "I think we really like it." And then we got Canada, we got Mexico involved, and we're going to have a great partnership. And it's going to be very special. I look forward to it.

Donald Trump

00:03:35 - 00:03:44 (9 sec)

So let's see, 2026 -- I won't be here. I won't be here. Maybe they'll extend the term because I know they'd love to see some -- [Laughter] Because if they don't extend --

Gianni Infantino

00:03:44 - 00:03:45 (1 sec)

With good reason.

Donald Trump

00:03:45 - 00:04:01 (16 sec)

-- the media is going to be very boring. It's going to be very boring. They'll all be out of business, I guess. But we will -- we will be there and it will be a very, very important and a very special event. And I think, also, having it in the United States is very important for soccer.

Gianni Infantino

00:04:01 - 00:04:01 (1 sec)

Donald Trump

00:04:01 - 00:04:04 (2 sec)

Especially in light of the fact that soccer has done so well.

Gianni Infantino

00:04:04 - 00:04:05 (1 sec)

Yeah, and it's growing.

Donald Trump

00:04:05 - 00:04:06 (1 sec)

Thank you, my friend. I appreciate it very much.

Carlos Cordeiro

00:04:06 - 00:04:07 (0 sec)

Donald Trump

00:04:07 - 00:04:08 (2 sec)

Thank you very much. I appreciate it.

Gianni Infantino

00:04:08 - 00:04:10 (2 sec)

Mr. President, I have a little --

Question

00:04:10 - 00:04:12 (2 sec)

Mr. President, do you think Google should be investigated?

Gianni Infantino

00:04:12 - 00:04:14 (2 sec)

-- I have a little thing for you. Can I give it to you first?

Donald Trump

00:04:14 - 00:04:15 (1 sec)

Sure. I'd love that. Thank you.

Gianni Infantino

00:04:15 - 00:04:17 (1 sec)

Before the questions come.

Question

00:04:17 - 00:04:18 (1 sec)

I have a question for you, too.

Gianni Infantino

00:04:18 - 00:04:19 (1 sec)

Question

00:04:19 - 00:04:20 (1 sec)

Can I ask him a question?

Gianni Infantino

00:04:20 - 00:04:20 (1 sec)

Question

00:04:20 - 00:04:22 (2 sec)

So I want to know if you guys are discussing --

Donald Trump

00:04:22 - 00:04:23 (1 sec)

What -- excuse me. Excuse me.

Gianni Infantino

00:04:23 - 00:04:23 (0 sec)

Donald Trump

00:04:23 - 00:04:25 (2 sec)

Can you just hold it. Where are you from?

Question

00:04:25 - 00:04:27 (1 sec)

Donald Trump

00:04:27 - 00:04:27 (1 sec)

Gianni Infantino

00:04:27 - 00:04:28 (1 sec)

Soccer country.

Question

00:04:28 - 00:04:29 (2 sec)

We have the best team in the world. [Laughter]

Donald Trump

00:04:29 - 00:04:33 (4 sec)

Except it had a little problem last time.

Question

00:04:33 - 00:04:34 (1 sec)

Donald Trump

00:04:34 - 00:04:35 (1 sec)

Question

00:04:35 - 00:04:37 (2 sec)

No fair. It wasn't fair.

Donald Trump

00:04:37 - 00:04:40 (3 sec)

Let me stand up, Gianni.

Gianni Infantino

00:04:40 - 00:04:42 (2 sec)

And you are part of the FIFA team now.

Donald Trump

00:04:42 - 00:04:47 (5 sec)

That's good. That's good. Great. Thank you very much. That's very nice.

Carlos Cordeiro

00:04:47 - 00:04:49 (2 sec)

And if I could get the U.S. jersey.

Donald Trump

00:04:49 - 00:04:55 (6 sec)

Yes. Wow, look at that.

Gianni Infantino

00:04:55 - 00:04:56 (1 sec)

And no less with the President's name.

Donald Trump

00:04:56 - 00:05:02 (6 sec)

That's pretty good. Thank you. Thank you, fellas. That's really very nice.

Gianni Infantino

00:05:02 - 00:05:08 (5 sec)

And one more thing that could be useful for you. You know, in soccer, we have referees, right?

Donald Trump

00:05:08 - 00:05:08 (0 sec)

Gianni Infantino

00:05:08 - 00:05:17 (9 sec)

And they have cards. Yellow cards and red cards. Yellow card is a warning. And when you want to kick out someone -- [Inaudible]. [Laughter] Like this.

Donald Trump

00:05:17 - 00:05:26 (9 sec)

That's true. That's true. Right? That's very good.

Gianni Infantino

00:05:26 - 00:05:29 (3 sec)

So this could be useful. I don't know.

Donald Trump

00:05:29 - 00:05:30 (1 sec)

Gianni Infantino

00:05:30 - 00:05:30 (0 sec)

That's for you.

Donald Trump

00:05:30 - 00:05:31 (1 sec)

Carlos Cordeiro

00:05:31 - 00:05:32 (1 sec)

The next media session.

Donald Trump

00:05:32 - 00:05:39 (7 sec)

Thank you very much. Thank you, Carlos. Congratulations. Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you.

Question

00:05:39 - 00:05:42 (3 sec)

[Inaudible] with Mexico about paying for the wall?

Donald Trump

00:05:42 - 00:05:48 (6 sec)

Yeah. The wall will be paid for very easily by Mexico. It will ultimately be paid for by Mexico.

Question

00:05:48 - 00:05:50 (2 sec)

Do you think that Google should be investigated?

Donald Trump

00:05:50 - 00:06:08 (18 sec)

Yeah, I think Google has really taken advantage of a lot of people. And I think that's a very serious thing, and it's a very serious charge. I think what Google and what others are doing -- if you look at what's going on at Twitter, if you look at what's going on in Facebook, they better be careful, because you can't do that to people. You can't do it.

Donald Trump

00:06:08 - 00:06:31 (23 sec)

We have tremendous -- we have literally thousands and thousands of complaints coming in. And you just can't do that. And so I think that Google and Twitter and Facebook, they're really treading on very, very troubled territory. And they have to be careful. It's not fair to large portions of the population. Okay. Thank you very much everybody.