US Vice President JD Vance has become the target of backlash for suggesting – albeit jokingly – that tourists who come to the United States for the FIFA World Cup will be deported if they overstay their visas. According to CNBC, Vance’s offensive remarks were made during a World Cup task force meeting, which was also attended by US President Donald Trump.
The United States is co-hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will take place next year in the US, Canada and Mexico. The quadrennial soccer tournament is a big tourist draw - in 2022, for example, more than 1 million people travelled to Qatar to watch the matches.
JD Vance’s comments
United States authorities say that while they are gearing up to welcome tourists to the country, they want to ensure nobody overstays their welcome. It was during a World Cup task force meeting that JD Vance joked about deporting tourists and subsequently faced massive backlash.
“We’ll have visitors from close to 100 countries. We want them to come, we want them to celebrate, we want them to watch the game,” Vance said. “But when the time is up, they’ll have to go home, otherwise they’ll have to talk to [Homeland Security] Secretary Noem.”
Veep under fire
Footage of his comments has gone viral with more than 6.4 million views in less than a day. Given that one of the purposes of the FIFA World Cup is to drive tourism to the host countries, many people mocked the US Vice President for fear-mongering and hurting the very economic interests the tournament is supposed to promote.
{{/usCountry}}Footage of his comments has gone viral with more than 6.4 million views in less than a day. Given that one of the purposes of the FIFA World Cup is to drive tourism to the host countries, many people mocked the US Vice President for fear-mongering and hurting the very economic interests the tournament is supposed to promote.
{{/usCountry}}“He turned a World Cup welcome into a fear-mongering deportation line.
Zero applause. Zero charisma. Zero clue,” wrote one X user.
“What a disgrace. Vance’s joke landed like a deflated soccer ball. Nothing says ‘welcome’ like a deportation threat at a World Cup presser,” X user Carolyn Barber opined.
Many social media users said that given the current climate of fear in the US, and JD Vance’s remarks, tourists would be wary of travelling to the country.
“Why would anyone risk coming? We have a President that denies people due process, that our constitution stipulates everyone on our soil has,” an X user wrote.