European leaders adopted an informal strategy to avoid irritating U.S. President Donald Trump at the NATO summit that concluded yesterday in Ankara, Turkey: not to mention the 2026 World Cup. This agreement, reported by The Guardian, aimed to keep the American president appeased by avoiding a topic that could cause friction during important deliberations on defense spending, aid to Ukraine, and peace in Iran. According to official sources, the strategy was discussed on the sidelines of the summit. European leaders tried to assure Trump that they are meeting their financial obligations, with the goal of building ‘a stronger and more European NATO,’ where each member commits to spending 5% of their GDP on defense by 2035. The first public confirmation of this tactic came from Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever, who told reporters in Ankara that he would not discuss his team’s 4-1 victory over the U.S. It is worth noting that the summit comes after a controversy generated by Trump, who asked FIFA President Gianni Infantino to intervene in the review of the red card shown to American forward Folarin Balogun, which allowed him to play against Belgium. Before meeting with Trump, De Wever joked about the situation, saying that the U.S. president ‘has a reputation for sometimes reacting a bit irritably to things he doesn’t like, and I think this defeat will be felt.’ ‘Everyone is talking about one thing, which is congratulations on the well-deserved victory of the Red Devils,’ he said, referring to the nickname of the Belgian national team. ‘Of course, the losing side is also present. And it happens to be the largest NATO partner.’ Later, De Wever could not resist a jab at Trump. Mentioning that NATO is prepared to provide 70 billion euros in military aid to Ukraine this year and next, he added: ‘This is also a very strong ‘red card’ for Putin. You can’t just annul a red card. You know that.’ So far, Donald Trump has not commented on the U.S. team’s defeat. However, during the game, he was mocked by several Belgian players who imitated his signature dance after the fourth goal. At another moment during the summit, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer exchanged jokes with his Norwegian counterpart, Jonas Gahr Støre, before the quarter-final match between England and Norway, each wearing their national team’s jersey. Starmer teased Støre by saying that England ‘only wins the World Cup under Labour governments.’
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