President Donald Trump has attended a string of marquee sporting events during his second term, and the teams he’s rooted for keep losing, consistently enough that fans and sports commentators have started calling it the “Trump curse.”
On Monday, when the US men’s soccer team lost 4-1 to Belgium in the World Cup Round of 16, hours after Trump personally called FIFA President Gianni Infantino to push for the reinstatement of a suspended American striker.
This Trump streak dates to the start of his term. He became the first sitting president to attend a Super Bowl in person at Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans in February last year, and publicly predicted a Kansas City Chiefs win. The Philadelphia Eagles routed them 40-22.
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That September, Trump visited Team USA’s Ryder Cup squad at Bethpage Black, and Europe went on to take the trophy. In October, the New York Yankees lost their American League Division Series game 3-1 to the Toronto Blue Jays after a Trump visit, and in November, Trump attended a Washington Commanders home game against the Detroit Lions, who won 44-22.
And then the trend continued into 2026. Trump watched from a suite at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the College Football Playoff National Championship on January 19 as the Hurricanes fell to Indiana 27-21.
Then in June, Trump became the first sitting president to attend an NBA Finals game, watching from Knicks owner James Dolan’s private suite as New York’s 13-game playoff winning streak, the second-longest in NBA postseason history, ended with a 115-111 loss to the San Antonio Spurs in Game 3.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom reposted a message declaring “the Trump effect” after the Knicks’ loss, and ESPN‘s Stephen A. Smith told reporters afterward that “the president disrupted our mojo.”
And lo and behold, New York won its final two games without him there, closing out the Spurs 4-1 to win the franchise’s first NBA title since 1973.
One Response
Trump has lost his mojo. Will he get back for the 2028 election for the GOP time will tell.