Sycophants, grifters, and ego-massaging billionaires so strongly define Donald Trump’s second term, we might easily forget that openly associating with him used to be controversial. Still, looking back to his inauguration reminds us what was already eyebrow-raising back then, and what was still to come.

On that January day, there were scheming tech giants like Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Sam Altman, and Jeff Bezos. There were Trumpist sporting icons and influencers like Jake and Logan Paul, Conor McGregor, Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Dana White, and Joe Rogan. There was even a quartet of slightly bewildered former presidents. But among them all sat a gleaming head most Americans likely wouldn’t recognize: FIFA president Gianni Infantino.

The Italian Swiss sports administrator might be relatively anonymous, but this masks his global importance. Infantino, who has grown remarkably close to Trump in recent years, has helped turn the upcoming World Cup, held in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, into a Trump-dominated circus. The 2026 World Cup will be a new low for the sport, representing a clear distillation of both Trump’s approach to “sportswashing” and FIFA’s degradation.