The United States launched its bid to co-host the 2026 World Cup with Mexico and Canada on Monday after gaining the support of President Donald Trump to pursue soccer's showpiece amid heightened regional political tensions.
Trump derided Mexico as a source of rapists and criminals in his campaign and has vowed to build a wall on the southern border. Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto recently canceled a trip to Washington over Trump's insistence that Mexico pay for the wall.
U.S. Soccer Federation President Sunil Gulati was asked about the impact of Trump's policy toward Mexicans on relations between the countries as he presented the bid alongside his counterparts from Mexico and Canada in New York.