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'Trump's wash-rinse-repeat routine was on full display' | Simon Marks' American Week
Jul 12, 2026
After trying but failing to rig the outcome of the World Cup and resuming his war of choice in Iran, Trump has had a busy week and Simon Marks is back with all things US politics. 0:07 | FIFA in hot water as Trump interferes 2:51 | World Cup compared to Super Bowl 3:53 | Trump’s ‘foul mood’ dominates summit 7:29 | Democrats in crisis over candidate 10:30 | Rupert Lowe minimises Dunblane tragedy 11:58 | Trump’s failed efforts to rig victory Listen to the full show on the all-new LBC App: https://app.af.lbc.co.uk/btnc/thenewlbcapp #simonmarks #donaldtrump #trump #fifa #infantino #worldcup #football #rupertlowe #joerogan #LBC LBC is the home of live debate around news and current affairs in the UK. Join in the conversation and listen at https://www.lbc.co.uk/ Sign up to LBC’s weekly newsletter here: https://l-bc.co/signup
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0:00
I know a lot of water has passed under the bridge over the last seven days, but I am still very much stuck on this
0:07
So I saw the play, and I'm a person that loves sports and was a good athlete, and I understand sports really well, really well
0:18
And that wasn't a foul. That wasn't even an infraction. That was two guys running full speed that happened to crash into each other
0:25
Now, I must confess that even I never thought there was a chance
0:29
that Donald Trump would try to rig the outcome of the World Cup
0:33
I mean, yes, of course, he's going to try hell for leather to rig the outcome of America's midterm elections in November
0:39
And certainly, he has no shortage of form rigging the outcome of numerous deals that he signed
0:44
to ensure that he and his family are enriched by them. If you weren't with me last week
0:50
the Trumps are $2.2 billion better off since he returned to the presidency
0:55
their wealth has tripled since inauguration day. But the World Cup, being fought partly on American
1:02
soil, well, I was naive enough to think that the man who professes to understand sports really well
1:08
might leave that one alone. He gave him a red card. I didn't know what that meant. I didn't
1:12
think it meant much. Then I started hearing that that means he can't play in the next game
1:18
at least in the next game. I said, boy, that's a big, you know, if it happened to
1:23
another player. It would have been unfair, but when they take your best player or just about
1:28
they have some great players, and they say you can't play. How do you penalise them for a game
1:34
that hasn't been played yet? It's very unfair. You can't do that. So yes, I asked for a review
1:40
by FIFA. And of course, as we all know, Gianni Infantino of FIFA made sure that review allowed
1:46
the US team's top goalscorer, Follerin Balogun, to play against Belgium on Tuesday night
1:52
And to the eternal pleasure of pretty much everybody everywhere, the Belgians then thrashed the American side for one
1:59
which at least allows American parents to explain to their offspring that cheats never prosper
2:05
even if little Johnny then asks mum and dad to explain the extra $2.2 billion showing up on the Trump family's balance sheet
2:13
But here's the thing. This was about more than Trump shamelessly trying to fix the outcome of the world's premier sporting event
2:20
If you listened carefully to what he was saying, proposing to scrap rules that prevent a team's top players from taking to the field
2:29
making it open season for aggressive on-pitch tactics, comparing the audiences of the World Cup to multiple Super Bowls taking place night after night
2:39
you can hear the penny dropping and a play being made for the United States now to become the dominant power in the very lucrative business of world football
2:50
What we didn't know is how successful it was going to be. I thought, I didn't know
2:55
I said, Johnny, is anyone going to show up? Because, you know, we're not, again, we're not really
3:00
I think soccer is doing much better but I couldn imagine Take the most successful Olympics or the most successful FIFA and you look at what happened you look at the numbers for this in the United States
3:14
just compared to FIFA, and it's numerous times more. It's not like 10 percent more, 2 percent more, 5 percent more, which is more expected
3:24
It's like four times more successful than anything they've ever done. And in fact, I said to Johnny, let's do it again next time
3:34
He can smell the money a mile away and so can the American TV networks
3:39
Those hydration breaks, which are really commercial breaks, worth more than $250 million to the titans of American television
3:48
may prove to be the thin end of a very thick wedge
3:53
In other realms this week, the president was facing geopolitical challenges. By the time he got to the NATO summit in Ankara, he was in a foul mood, only showing up, he said
4:04
because the host, Turkish strongman Recep Tayyip Erdogan, had personally invited him to attend
4:11
fuming over Iran's attacks on three commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz
4:16
The president ordered the US military back into action against Iranian targets
4:21
including air defense systems that the Americans have previously claimed were obliterated
4:27
To me, I think it's over. I don't want to deal with them anymore
4:32
They're scum. You know what scum is? They're scum. They're sick people. They're led by sick people
4:38
And they're vicious, violent people. He made those comments seated alongside the usually prostrate NATO Secretary General Mark Reuter
4:46
And at one point, the president gestured towards the NATO chief and inadvertently revealed that the Iranians have got the US all ends up
4:55
If I make a deal with him, we have a deal, and he goes out, he talks. We make a deal. Everyone's agreed. No nuclear weapon
5:02
We make a deal. They go outside, talk to the press. They say, we never even talked about it
5:06
There's something wrong with them. They're cuckoo. The old New York property mogul finding it incomprehensible
5:12
that the Ayatollahs of Iran negotiate in a culturally different manner than his golfing buddies down in Florida
5:19
Phrases that raise huge questions about whether he has the patience, the discipline, or the diplomatic guile to understand what it takes
5:28
to bring a nuclear deal with Iran across the finishing line. By the time we got to his closing press conference in Turkey
5:35
the new line about the Iranians being scum was not really holding up to much scrutiny
5:41
Mr. President, Tyler Pager with The New York Times. Last month, you said Iranian leaders were very rational people
5:47
nice people to deal with, strong people, smart people. Today, you said they were scum, sick people
5:52
and being led by sick people. What changed and do you think..
5:56
I got to know him. So, I've said that about a lot
5:59
Now, when you say rational, I think they're much more rational than level one, level two
6:04
Level one is gone. Level two is gone. This is level three
6:08
And once he was aboard Air Force One heading home we came full circle The wash rinse repeat routine on full display We already won militarily They have very little left and they want to make a deal so badly
6:22
They called a little while ago. They want to make a deal so badly. I just don't know if they're worthy of making a deal
6:29
I don't know if they're going to honor the deal. That's a problem. And then he was asked this apparently unexpected bouncer
6:34
If they want to make a deal, why do you think they attacked commercial vessels
6:38
because it's sort of crazy, to be honest with you. It's sort of crazy
6:46
They're a little bit out of control, but they want to make a deal badly
6:50
So on we go. If only the future of the entire global economy didn't depend on it, we could at least have a giggle
6:56
There were other developments this week. Trump announced that he will give Ukraine
7:00
the right to manufacture Patriot missiles in Ukraine. That's a massive win for President Zelensky
7:07
whose drones continue to cause significant economic dislocation in Russia, where they have been targeting oil facilities, including some on the outskirts of Moscow
7:18
President Trump returned, as you always knew he would, to his obsession with Greenland
7:24
NATO leaders engaged in the usual flim-flam by talking about Arctic security instead
7:29
Now, if you're sitting there thinking, we haven't got too much to worry about, the midterm elections are right around the corner
7:35
the Democrats are going to sweep the board. Well, the Democrats this week had some pretty big troubles of their own to overcome
7:44
What I love most about Maine are the people. I have never met people who are more hardscrabble
7:50
even in a place that requires you to work like two or three different jobs
7:54
We have watched this state become essentially unlivable for working class people
7:58
And it makes me deeply angry. My name is Graham Plattner and I'm running for US Senate in Maine
8:04
Last year's video, in which oyster farmer, military veteran and left-wing populist Graham Plattner
8:10
launched his campaign to win an absolutely crucial Senate seat this November
8:15
quickly catapulted him to public prominence. Democratic Party strategists believed they had lit upon working-class gold
8:24
a man who might even lead the party one day as its presidential nominee
8:28
But over the last 11 long months, Mr. Platner's campaign has turned into an ongoing smouldering disaster
8:36
First came the revelation that he has a Nazi tattoo on his chest
8:41
He claimed not to have realised it was an emblem of the SS. Then historic social media posts were unearthed
8:48
in which he engaged in racist and homophobic slurs. They were also waved away by his backers
8:54
When his own wife alerted campaign staff to the fact that Mr. Plattner had exchanged
9:00
explicit text messages with a variety of women, others came forward to accuse him of sexual assault
9:06
and harassment. Still, his prominent backers, including Senator Bernie Sanders and Senator Elizabeth Warren
9:13
stuck with him. This week, just days before it would have been too late for Democrats to replace him a former girlfriend came forward and accused Mr Plattner of rape On Wednesday night denying the accusations he dropped out
9:29
of the race and angrily pointed the finger of blame at the grandees of the Democratic Party
9:36
There is a reason that this is happening now. I only have until July 13th, until I am officially
9:44
the nominee, this was the last week to try to get me off of the ballot. And that's why
9:53
this is occurring. They are going to take everything away from us. Those in power who
10:03
have the ability to do so are using these allegations as an excuse to take away all
10:10
of the things that we need to run a campaign. There is every possibility that in November, control of the Senate comes down to that single race in Maine
10:19
The idea that it has taken Democrats months to replace a candidate who was obviously a major liability is just jaw dropping, given the stakes in the midterms
10:31
Jaw dropping too this week, Rupert Lowe's appearance on the Joe Rogan podcast
10:35
I mean, the fact that he was invited speaks volumes about growing interest in Restore Britain among Trump's Make America Great Again followers
10:44
There's no doubt that some of them are shopping around, looking for an alternative to Nigel Farage and reform
10:51
And that was before news of the by-election standoff in Clacton with Count Binface that lies ahead
10:57
We now have a society which needs radical change and we need to release the individual
11:05
One way in which Mr Lowe said that should happen is by relaxing Britain's restrictions on gun ownership
11:12
Except, unfortunately for him, he then made a major unforced error. As you probably know, they banned handguns
11:20
The 90s, right? In the late 90s because there was a murder up in Dunblane
11:25
One murder. One murder. In fact, in the March 1996 attack on Dunblane Primary School, 16 pupils and one teacher were killed
11:34
15 others were injured. It was not one murder, but the deadliest mass shooting in British history
11:41
And for the record, so far in 2026 alone, there have been 281 incidents of mass gun violence in
11:50
America in which four or more people were shot. So that's what absence of gun control does for a
11:56
society. It's been a long week. Let's end it where we began, with the World Cup. Donald Trump's failed
12:02
efforts to rig an American victory, and the magical moment when the Belgian team savoured
12:08
their win over the United States. In the dressing room afterwards, Belgium's players satirise
12:15
Donald Trump's signature dance move to his favourite bit of music. It's a game in two
12:20
halves, but sometimes the real magic happens after the final whistle
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