Jimmy Kimmel’s guest host has a new theory about President Donald Trump’s bruised hands.
Tiffany Haddish, sitting in for Kimmel on Tuesday, addressed Trump’s widely mocked intervention in the World Cup after Team USA was trounced 4-1 by Belgium.
“People are blaming Donald Trump for the loss after he got FIFA to help Team USA,” she said. “It seems like everything Trump touches dies, which I guess is why his tiny hands are all f---ed up.”
The joke landed because the underlying story is real. Trump admitted Monday that he called FIFA President Gianni Infantino to get a suspension of Team USA star Folarin Balogun overturned.
Balogun had received a red card in the Americans’ round-of-32 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina, which would have ruled him out of the round-of-16 clash with Belgium. FIFA reversed the ban following Trump’s intervention, triggering accusations of political interference and corruption.
It didn’t help. Belgium won 4-1 anyway, and appeared to relish every moment of it. After striker Romelu Lukaku scored the winning goal, the Belgian players mocked Trump by imitating his trademark dance on the field. The Belgian social media team posted a photo of Lukaku celebrating with a simple caption: “Overturn this.”
The phrase “Trump Curse” promptly began trending online. Progressive outlet MeidasTouch compiled a list of sports events Trump attended or championed that ended in losses for his preferred side: He predicted a Kansas City Chiefs win at the Super Bowl—the Philadelphia Eagles blew them out; he watched the Washington Commanders lose at home to the Detroit Lions; he was present when Miami fell in the College Football National Championship; he sat in the owner’s suite when the New York Knicks snapped their winning playoff streak in NBA Finals Game 3; and he attended the Ryder Cup, where Europe beat the U.S. team.
Meanwhile, Trump’s hands were on display at the NATO summit in Turkey this week, looking swollen and heavily covered in makeup—a recurring point of public speculation about the president’s health.
