Trump World Cup talk was off limits in Ankara. Nato leaders informally agreed not to mention it to Donald Trump, and Bart De Wever said he would not bring up Belgium’s 4-1 win over the US himself.
Bart De Wever in Ankara
Belgium’s 4-1 victory had already become the sort of scoreline that travels faster than any summit memo. Bart De Wever told reporters in Ankara that Trump “has the reputation of sometimes reacting a bit irritably to things that he doesn’t like, and I think this defeat will hit hard,” then added to VRT: “I’m not going to start [talking] about it myself. But if he were to say something about it, then I’ll see what that is and how I can react to it.”
De Wever also said, “Everyone’s talking about one thing, and that is congratulations for the well deserved victory of the Red Devils,” and that “the losing party is also present. That also happens to be the biggest partner in Nato.” His line was less about football than about diplomacy by avoidance: keep the room calm, keep the summit moving, and do not hand Trump an opening to turn a sports result into a grievance.
Fifa, Balogun and the red card
Before the summit, Trump asked Fifa president Gianni Infantino to review the red card shown to Folarin Balogun, which meant Balogun could then play in the match against Belgium. That detail made the match harder to keep at arm’s length in Ankara, because the score carried a political edge before anyone even reached the summit table.
European leaders were also using the sidelines of the summit in Ankara to try to keep Trump on side while officials worried he could further destabilise Nato with threats over defence spending. The alliance was trying to reassure him that European Nato was pulling its weight, with each member on track to spend 5% of GDP on defence by 2035.
Trump and the 4th goal
Several Belgian players mocked Trump during the match by mimicking his signature dance move after their 4th goal, which made the postgame mood in Brussels easy to predict and the diplomatic mood in Ankara harder to manage. Trump has yet to comment on the US team’s defeat, so the summit restraint looks less like politeness than contingency planning.
That is the useful read on the day: the football result did not stay on the pitch. It reached the summit in Ankara, and the safest line for allies was the same one De Wever chose — let the score stand, and wait to see whether Trump decides to answer it in public.
