Trump Claims That the White House Is Keeping the FIFA Club World Cup Trophy

Although he has a country to run, President Trump seemed to find a way to make time to show up on stage when Chelsea celebrated its victory in the first-ever FiFA Club World Cup. That celebration was in East Rutherford, N.J., and the president took the stage to boos as Chelsea celebrated.

Apparently, Trump's appearance on the dais was not the only way he's been involved in the Club World Cup. During a recent interview, Trump announced that he would be keeping the Club World Cup trophy in the White House indefinitely. Here's what we know about whether he stole it.

As it turns out, the trophy that Chelsea hoisted during its celebration, which was modeled on the Voyager space probes, is not the same trophy that has been sitting in the White House since it was first unveiled in April. During an interview with Club World Cup broadcaster DAZN on July 13, President Trump explained that he also thought that the trophy sitting in the White House would be leaving at some point.

"I said, 'When are you going to pick up the trophy?'" Trump said of a call with FIFA. Trump said that they replied: "'We’re never going to pick it up. You can have it forever in the Oval Office. We’re making a new one.' And they actually made a new one. So that was quite exciting, but it is in the Oval [Office] right now."

So it seems like the trophy is still in the Oval Office, and there are just two of them out in the world.

FIFA has not made any official announcements about designing two trophies, but it seems like that's the most plausible outcome. The trophy has remained in the Oval Office since FIFA head Gianni Infantino joined the president in the White House to unveil it a few months ago. Trump has become much more involved with FIFA in his second stint in office, in part because the United States is set to host the 2026 World Cup.

The White House FIFA trophy has been in the Oval Office since it was first installed there, and Chelsea's version of the trophy is back in their home stadium.

The case of these duplicate trophies had some people suggesting that Trump had somehow made off with Chelsea's trophy, when in fact, both trophies still exist.

The version that sits in the White House has been prominent during events related to soccer, but people have noticed it during clips that have nothing to do with FIFA in any way, shape, or form. Trump, who is famously a fan of gold and other shiny things, seems to like to have it around.

It seems like Infantino may have been wise to cater to that instinct in Trump. Anyone who has followed the president for any length of time knows that he is particularly interested in certain form of flattery.