This Expert Just Warned That Trump Is Doing This 1 Exact Thing That Past Dictators Have Done

Trump has used sports to gain political advantage ahead of the FIFA World Cup. A sports politics expert links Trump’s approach to sportswashing, where governments or leaders use major sporting events to launder public image. The expert argues Trump is trying to exploit the tournament with FIFA leadership, including Gianni Infantino, and a FIFA system described as a “grift machine” amid corruption concerns. The expert compares this to Benito Mussolini’s use of the 1934 World Cup to promote fascism, including creating a special trophy for Italy. The expert also raises concerns about travel restrictions affecting fans and the potential for expanded federal law enforcement at stadiums.

"“If you look at the way [Benito] Mussolini, for example, cozied up to the athletes at the World Cup in 1934, he just wanted to be around these kinds of ‘macho guys,’” said Jules Boykoff, a professor at Pacific University and an expert in international sports politics. “Well, you can see [that in] the same kind of thing that Trump does all the time.”"

"Boykoff, a former professional soccer player who once represented the U.S. on the under-23 men's national team, explores how Trump has used this year's World Cup to engage in “sportswashing.” The term refers to the 21st-century phenomenon of a person (or government) using sports to launder their (or its) image. Boykoff argues that Trump has attempted to exploit the tournament with the help of Gianni Infantino, the president of FIFA, and what the author calls the FIFA “grift machine,” a federation plagued by a corruption scandal that rocked the sport in the mid-2010s."

"Mussolini, for instance, used the 1934 World Cup to push fascism and introduced a prize of his own - the Coppa del Duce - for the winning Italian national team, one that was larger than the typical Jules Rimet Trophy awarded to victors at the time, Boykoff writes in his book."

"On top of fans of teams from participating nations like Haiti and Iran being barred from traveling to the U.S. due to Trump's travel ban, Boykoff fears the government could have “plenty of leeway to do all manner of things” as the matches carry high-level, special event assessment ratings that could be used to beef up federal law enforcement's presence at stadiums."

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