{"id":223687,"date":"2026-05-07T19:32:23","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T19:32:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/223687\/"},"modified":"2026-05-07T19:32:23","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T19:32:23","slug":"trump-rips-1000-world-cup-ticket-prices-in-exclusive-post-interview-i-wouldnt-pay-it-either-to-be-honest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/223687\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump rips $1,000 World Cup ticket prices in exclusive Post interview: ‘I wouldn’t pay it either, to be honest’"},"content":{"rendered":"

President Trump blasted sky-high 2026 FIFA World Cup ticket prices<\/a> in an exclusive interview with The Post, saying even he wouldn\u2019t pony up the $1,000 needed to watch the US play in the team\u2019s opening game against Paraguay next month.<\/p>\n

In a brief telephone interview late Wednesday, the commander-in-chief reacted with surprise at how much American soccer fans were currently being asked to pay to attend the June 12 match in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

President Trump, seen here with Vice-President JD Vance and FIFA boss Gianni Infantino, helped the US win the right to host the World Cup in 2018 during his first term in the White House. AP<\/p>\n

\u201cI did not know that number,\u201d President Trump told The Post just hours after FIFA president Gianni Infantino defended the cost of seats<\/a> for next month\u2019s tournament. \u201cI would certainly like to be there, but I wouldn\u2019t pay it either, to be honest with you.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Swiss-Italian soccer fat cat joked on Tuesday about resale tickets being sold online for just over $2 million for the final on July 19 at New Jersey\u2019s MetLife Stadium \u2014 promising to personally deliver \u201ca hot dog and a Coke\u201d to any deep-pocketed fan who shelled out for them.<\/p>\n

The average cost of a ticket to the final is nearly $13,000, compared to about $1,600 for the 2022 championship.<\/p>\n

But the president appeared to suggest that his administration could put the exorbitant prices under the microscope, expressing concern they could shut out working-class fans that he counts among his base.<\/p>\n

\u201cI haven\u2019t seen that, but I would have to take a look at it,\u201d said the real estate mogul, who helped secure the tournament for the US during his first term in the White House.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf people from Queens and Brooklyn and all of the people that love Donald Trump can\u2019t go, I would be disappointed, but, you know, at the same time, it\u2019s an amazing success,\u201d he added. \u201cI would like to be able to have the people that voted for me to be able to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

The US opens its World Cup campaign at the SoFI Stadium in Los Angeles on June 12 against Paraguay \u2013 but tickets start at roughly $1,000. Getty Images<\/p>\n

The president insisted the competition had been a commercial triumph, praising the \u201crecord-setting\u201d number of seats already sold, which FIFA puts at 5 million tickets.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know that is extremely successful,\u201d Trump said. \u201cSetting every record in the book. They\u2019ve never had anything like it.\u201d<\/p>\n

But supporters in this country and abroad have complained that many of the seats have been scooped by vulture-like scalpers who are trying to cash in by punting them on major resale platforms.<\/p>\n

In Europe, one fan group even filed an antitrust complaint with regulators, calling the pricing by FIFA, a Switzerland-based tax-exempt organization, \u201cexcessive.\u201d<\/p>\n

During an appearance at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills on Tuesday, Infantino hit back at the criticism from supporters worldwide and defended the use of dynamic pricing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to look at the market,\u201d the sports suit told the ritzy confab for the global financial elite. \u201cWe are in the market in which entertainment is the most developed in the world, so we have to apply market rates.<\/p>\n

FIFA President Gianni Infantino speaks during the 29th annual Milken Institute Global Conference at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California. AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the US, it is permitted to resell tickets as well, so if you were to sell tickets at the price which is too low, these tickets will be resold at a much higher price,\u201d he claimed, pointing to an estimated 500 million ticket requests for this tournament.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou cannot go to watch in the US a college game, not even speaking about a top professional game of a certain level, for less than $300,\u201d the 56-year-old, who rakes in $6 million a year, continued. \u201cAnd this is the World Cup.\u201d<\/p>\n

The tournament\u2019s broader economic boost, which a FIFA-World Trade Organization study puts at $30 billion, is falling short of forecasts as hotel bookings lag far behind ticket sales.<\/p>\n

A survey released by the American Hotel & Lodging Association found that nearly 80% of hotels in the 11 US host cities are running below initial World Cup projections<\/a>, with only about six weeks until the June 11 kickoff.<\/p>\n

Inter Miami superstar Lionel Messi is expected to appear in his sixth \u2013 and likely final \u2013 World Cup with Argentina when the tournament begins next month. AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

In Kansas City, 85% to 90% of operators reported demand trailing even a typical June or July without a major event.<\/p>\n

The AHLA report noted that more than 5 million tickets have been sold, but \u201chotel bookings have not kept pace,\u201d with domestic travelers outnumbering international visitors. <\/p>\n

Industry officials cited visa delays, high travel costs, and geopolitical concerns as key factors slowing foreign demand.<\/p>\n

\u201cBookings are tracking below initial forecasts,\u201d the report stated. Some hotels described the tournament so far as a \u201cnon-event\u201d relative to earlier projections, according to the same source.<\/p>\n

The 2026 World Cup \u2014 featuring 48 teams competing in a record 104 matches across 16 host cities in Canada, Mexico, and the United States \u2014 runs through July 19, with the final to be played at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"President Trump blasted sky-high 2026 FIFA World Cup ticket prices in an exclusive interview with The Post, saying…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":223688,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[288,153,11015,9,11,10,23681,14771],"class_list":["post-223687","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-business","tag-donald-trump","tag-fifa","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-headlines","tag-new-york-news","tag-us-soccer","tag-world-cup"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223687","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=223687"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223687\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/223688"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=223687"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=223687"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=223687"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}