Trump joined by family as FIFA awards him ‘peace prize’ ahead of World Cup draw — latest US politics news

On stage, President Donald Trump immediately put on the gold medal handed to him by FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

“We want to live in a safe world, in a safe environment. We want to unite. That’s what we do today and what we do at the World Cup,” Infantino said.

Trump called it “one of the great honors of his life” and a “tremendous honor.”

President Donald Trump was awarded the newly created “FIFA Peace Prize.”

The award was announced in a pre-recorded video, walking through the U.S. president’s efforts to achieve peace around the world.

Trump helped to “broker ceasefires and promote diplomatic engagements,” a narrator said. Trump’s is a “presidency marked by actions to pursue peace around the world.”

Heidi Klum and Kevin Hart are co-hosting the 2026 World Cup draw as world-famous singer Andrea Bocelli kicked off the event.

Several members of the Trump administration, including Attorney General Pam Bondi, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and FBI Director Kash Patel, were spotted in the audience.

Tiffany Trump, the president’s daughter, and First Lady Melania Trump accompanied the president.

Donald Trump and other world leaders are going to attend FIFA’s 2026 World Cup draw on Friday.

The ceremony will determine which national teams are sorted into various groups for next year’s men’s tournament and will include a ceremony for the newly created “FIFA Peace Prize.”

President Donald Trump has suggested World Cup matches could be moved from certain venues if his administration believes the host cities aren’t safe.

In October, he threatened to pull World Cup matches from Boston, alleging that parts of the city had been “taken over” after a pro-Palestinian protest broke out.

Massachusetts will host seven games at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, 27 miles southwest of Boston.

At the time, when Trump was asked about Boston’s Democratic Mayor Michelle Wu, the president said: “I love the people of Boston, and I know the games are sold out. But your mayor is not good.”

Without providing specifics, he suggested “they’re taking over parts of Boston,” before asserting “we could get them back in about two seconds.”

He appeared to be referring to multiple arrests that were made earlier that month in connection with a pro-Palestinian protest that turned violent on the Boston Common.

The president has also threatened to relocate games if he deems cities “unsafe” amid his crime crackdown.

“If we think there’s going to be a sign of any trouble, I would ask [the FIFA President Gianni Infantino] to move that to a different city,” Trump said last month.

“I don’t think we will have this problem, but we will move the event to some place it will be appreciated and safe.”

Donald Trump is allotted to talk for three minutes at Friday’s World Cup draw, according to sources with knowledge of the proceedings, but few expect him to actually stick to that.

Even the setting is perhaps a little preview of how the World Cup 2026itself might function, and who it’s now about. Friday’s draw was originally intended to be in Las Vegas – just like for 1994 – until the Trump administration recommended the Kennedy Center in Washington DC. Gianni Infantino’s Fifa duly acquiesced

A more august setting, maybe, but one entering a new era of its own. It has since been reported that Fifa were to be given a zero-dollar rental fee for use of the venue, but in exchange for a $2.4m donation and “sponsorship opportunities” worth $5m.

Miguel Delaney, the Independent’s Chief Football Writer, has the story.

FBI deputy director Dan Bongino is now distancing himself from the conspiracy theories and baseless speculation that fueled his right-wing media career after the Department of Justice announced the arrest of a suspect accused of planting pipe bombs around Washington, D.C., before the ‘stop the steal’ riots on Jan. 6, 2021.

Bongino appeared to walk back his past claim that the FBI was complicit in a plot to place the bombs near the Republican and Democratic headquarters when pressed by Fox News host Sean Hannity on Thursday.

“Listen, I was paid in the past, Sean, for my opinions. That’s clear, and one day I’ll be back in that space,” Bongino said. “But that’s not what I’m paid for now. I’m paid to be your deputy director, and we base investigations on facts.”

A CDC vaccine advisory panel voted to end the longstanding advice that all newborns get the hepatitis B vaccination.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices decided to recommend babies whose mothers test positive, and in cases where the mom wasn’t tested, should be vaccinated, according to the Associated Press.

For other newborns, their parents and doctors will decide if a birth dose is appropriate.