Trump FIFA Plan Completely Backfires

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2:30Ben Meiselas:Donald Trump's FIFA World Cup plan backfired in his face. His attempt to infect hate and division has backfired as the people from countries across the world have united and pushed back against his despicable behavior. As Donald Trump has attacked the cities of Seattle and Los Angeles, what happened, the cities of Seattle and Los Angeles stood strong, stood firm, and showed what America is really all about. I find it so fascinating that when we have people from all over the world visiting the United States, the places that they love are the exact cities and states that Donald Trump hates the most.

3:11Ben Meiselas:Donald Trump tried to infect the games with hate as he did everything possible to beat down on the Iranian football team or here in the United States soccer team. He wouldn't let the Iranian team stay at United States hotels after their games and made them go right back to Tijuana. He wouldn't allow their staff and a lot of their coaches and their local media and families to join them. The Trump regime called the Iranian players agents of the IRGC and said that, in essence, they should be treated like enemy combatants, if you will. But the Iranian players and their fans and their fans at home and those who are watching the games across the Middle East, I think showed the world also a very different side, the accurate side, a cultural side that the Trump regime tries to not show.

4:10Ben Meiselas:The Trump regime talks about the Iranian people and the Iranian civilization in some of the cruelest of terms. But what we saw was a world united against Donald Trump's hate. And Donald Trump, while he festers in Washington, D.C., and has the worst American 250 fare I've ever seen, I've been doing videos on that, and humiliates himself. When you put the power to the people, when we talk about people to people, what we want to do We want to love. We want peace. We want happiness. And we don't want this hate being spewed by people like Donald Trump out there. Let me just go through some of the receipts that we've got right here.

4:52Ben Meiselas:Although Iran didn't make it into the round of 32, I thought it was a very bad call as well, where they called it offsides after Iran scored the game-winning goal. The Iran team handled the loss with dignity and grace. The Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting Network writes, none of the conditions were met and Iran's football team bid farewell to the 2026 World Cup. Despite the obstacles created by the U.S. government, the players played with great spirit. We thank those who supported Iran in stadiums and in their hearts. Here you have the video as well of Donald Trump and the Trump regime forcing the Iranian players after their last game to leave the United States right away and arrive in Tijuana at 4 a.m.

5:42Ben Meiselas:I mean, as the Iranian embassy in Kenya says, this is the most unfair and shameful behavior in a World Cup industry. We're talking about sports here. Even when there's war, even when there's conflict, this is not how a host country is supposed to behave. and it is so utterly shameful. And if this was any other country being treated this way by a host country, it would not be tolerated at all. The double standards are so obvious. Let me just share with you what the Iranian fans looked like as they were cheering in the game. We posted this on the Midas Touch Network because, again, you get a perspective of Iranian fans that you just don't see if you just listen to corporate news here in the United States.

6:24Ben Meiselas:Iran soccer fans react as they watch the FIFA World Cup 2026 match between Belgium and Iran at a cinema in Tehran last week. I mean, look at that. Look at the fans and the joy and the happiness right there. I'll show you a video right here as well. Iranians uniting behind their national team in Tehran. Let's play this clip right here.

6:57Ben Meiselas:You had Palestinians gathering in Central Gaza Strip to watch a live broadcast of the game between Egypt and Iran as football offered a moment of respite amid the ongoing genocide there. The screening drew families and football fans to a public space where supporters followed one of the tournament's most anticipated group stage matches. I mean, look at the fans right there. Look how incredible it was right there. Really great to see. Iranian fans at the Seattle statement in Washington also brought with them photographs of Iranian women and children and girls who were killed in Manab by the United States in the act of unmitigated war crimes committed by the Trump regime, which is so utterly disgraceful.

7:50Ben Meiselas:Let me show you this video right here. An Iranian father uses a handmade cardboard football pitch to help his visually impaired son experience the Iran-Egypt match through touch. Here, play this clip right here.

8:40Ben Meiselas:Then the Iranian team leaving some incredible messages in the locker rooms when they left. when they left Seattle, for example, here was the handwritten note that they left. Despite all of the horrible ways the United States was treating this team, these athletes left the following message. We come from Iran, from a land that for thousands of years has a place and honor above victory. And it has hashtag Manab. For us, football is not only a competition for results, It is a test of character. Perhaps points can be won in many ways, but respect cannot. Perhaps a team can advance from a group, but only through fairness and honor can one stand tall before history.

9:26Ben Meiselas:Fair play is not just a line in football rules. It is the soul of the game. Thank you, Seattle, for your hospitality. And thank you to all Iranians who gave their hearts, their voices, and their whole being for Iran. Iran always standing tall, hashtag hero, when they left the Sofi Stadium in Los Angeles after one of its games. This was the statement that Iran left in the locker room there. From the ancient Persia of thousands of years ago to the civilized Iran of today, the spirit of Iran remains alive and steadfast. Hashtag 168, hashtag Manab. We came to Los Angeles with pride, competed with honor, and leave with dignity.

10:09Ben Meiselas:Thank you, Los Angeles, for your hospitality. And thank you to every Iranian who gave their heart, voice, and soul for Iran throughout these 180 minutes. May peace, respect, and friendship prevail among all nations. May peace, respect, and friendship among all nations prevail. I'll share this with you as well. The White House was stealing the video footage of Aaron Levine, a reporter over there. As Matthew Fobb says, the Seattle-hating White House stole a Seattle journalist video to promote America. Maybe they should steal some paint for their pool instead. And what the White House did to try to spread their White House propaganda is stole the video footage of a Seattle reporter who loves Seattle, who shows what a beautiful city it is, what a beautiful state Washington is, the state of Washington, that is, and how the fans united and rejoiced.

11:13Ben Meiselas:Now, remember, this was the city that the Trump regime all of last year and whenever Donald Trump speaks calls a shithole city and says they're horrible and that it's war torn. No, it's a beautiful city. Los Angeles is a beautiful city. America can be such a beautiful place, but the Trump regime is a poison. Donald Trump is a vile virus with this MAGA movement that is here to cause harm and to divide us. But I want to show you how beautiful it looked when you saw what Seattle really looked like. And then we heard from the Iranian players. And, you know, the Iranian players were being asked all of these questions like, what's your view about gay people?

11:54Ben Meiselas:What's your view about LGBTQ? You know, and the Iranian captain, Taremi, was like, I respect him. I respect all people. I respect gay people, straight people, trans people. I respect human beings. And it's just so fascinating that that's what he's like, that's what you're asking me? And watch his response here play this clip. We respect all of the LGBT people. That's their own idea. It's not about us. We are here to play football. We respect all of those guys. Yeah, if you have questions about the game, I will answer. And then Iran's Taremi called out FIFA and the US. and he did it though in such a humble way.

12:38Ben Meiselas:Here play this clip. Who have to solve this problem for us? Who? FIFA? I don't know. USA? I don't know. Who? Just mention one name for me. I think I'm right. Can Infantino do also this problem? Who? Infantino. As I said, the Infantino first game came and said we will solve every problem here but actually people did nothing our logistics doesn't hear yeah you see we don't have media our media where is our media you can check no media here no media no i don't know kitmans no no one vice president president and he talks about the people in mexico and how humble they were and how people in Mexico treated the Iran team right.

13:29Ben Meiselas:Here play this clip. We always have to travel to Tijuana. We love people of the Mexic. We love Tijuana. It's so good. They are so humble people. We love them. But as a professional player, professional competition, it's not right. Yeah, it's about our opinion because now we have traveled again to going to And he describes how the World Cup has just been a disaster and how he's been treated playing this clip.

14:25It's just the beginning, but it's group stage finish tomorrow. And we don't have our logistic people here. They don't have a visa. How possible we always have to.

14:38Ben Meiselas:And he talks about how really the situation has really not been fair at all here playing this clip. It's about our opinion, because now we have traveled again to going to Tijuana again. So without recovery, without nothing, it's not fair. But our opinion is not fair. If it's fair for the FIFA, okay, good to them. But it's not fair. Who wants help us? Who? We don't have recovery. We don't have any logistic people here to help us. You always complain about these things, but no one help. No one. You complained about, sorry, about the travel, but the review, two straight games with the VAR by a centimeter.

15:30When you, when you watch the replay, your thoughts on the VAR taking away two goals in two games. That's about the football. Sure. But we, we complain about the outside the football, because which is the details important in the football. As you know, recovery is important

15:50Ben Meiselas:And then you have Raman Rezion, who, you know, here's what he says. Impossible to overstate the contrast between the class and dignity exhibited by the Iranian team and the cruel and disgusting behavior of other people. Let me just show with you what he was saying over here. Here he is talking about they didn't make it. They didn't get through the round. But just watch how he talks about the game of football and his love of the sport. Play this clue.

16:47Ben Meiselas:Now, let me be very clear. why I think it's important to make this video is not say, oh, do you support them overall? What I want to show and showcase more than anything is that we, the people, care about people. As I said, it's so important that we're empathetic with our fellow Americans, but people throughout the world. And what I find when I travel, although I haven't traveled much since launching the Mindest Touch Network because I spend a lot of time doing videos and running this network. But when I did travel, when I would go around the world, I would see people of all different races, ethnicities, religions.

17:30Ben Meiselas:And when you would break bread with people and when you spend time with people, whether you're spending people in Asia or Africa or Europe or Central America or Mexico or South America, the Caribbean, wherever, people want to find connections and bonds with people. And too frequently, it's the governments and it's these malignant, narcissistic, almost always men, let's be real, these authoritarian men who are miserable, disgusting people who want to use their time on earth to accumulate all this power for themselves and as well and to divide us as people. But left to people, we want to hang out with each other.

18:16Ben Meiselas:We want to break bread with each other. We want to care for each other and care about a better planet and a better earth. That to me is the message of this video as well. And so while you have people like Donald Trump who want to be divisive, who want to hate, what's actually been incredible was to see how people treated people despite Trump trying to infect it with all of his crap. That gives me hope. That gives me hope. And to not buy into these simple propagandistic narratives by these authoritarian regimes, including the United States authoritarian regime right now. Let's be real. Thanks for watching.

18:54Ben Meiselas:Hit subscribe. Let's get to 7 million. Thank you, everybody.

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