2 hours ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — Dozens of mayors and other city leaders gathered in the ballroom of a Washington hotel on a snowy January morning this year gripped by anger and anxiety about the federal government's increasingly aggressive immigration enforcement operation that included the killings of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis.
And then FIFA President Gianni Infantino took the stage.
“For the first time in 250 years of history of the United States of America, well, you will not just be invaded but you will be conquered,” he said as the audience at the National Conference of Mayors largely reacted with silence.
“You will be conquered by soccer,” he added in an attempt to land the joke and get the crowd energized about the World Cup, which will be hosted jointly by the U.S., Mexico and Canada from Thursday through July 19.
Ahead of the tournament, Infantino has successfully cozied up to President Donald Trump, creating a peace prize that was awarded to him and frequently visiting the White House, including a stop last week, when he was photographed alongside the Republican president admiring changes outside the Oval Office.
And then FIFA President Gianni Infantino took the stage.
“For the first time in 250 years of history of the United States of America, well, you will not just be invaded but you will be conquered,” he said as the audience at the National Conference of Mayors largely reacted with silence.
“You will be conquered by soccer,” he added in an attempt to land the joke and get the crowd energized about the World Cup, which will be hosted jointly by the U.S., Mexico and Canada from Thursday through July 19.
Ahead of the tournament, Infantino has successfully cozied up to President Donald Trump, creating a peace prize that was awarded to him and frequently visiting the White House, including a stop last week, when he was photographed alongside the Republican president admiring changes outside the Oval Office.
