'Where charisma goes to die': JD Vance slammed for threatening World Cup attendees

09 May

Vice President JD Vance the 2025 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland (Gage Skidmore/Flickr)

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be coming to the United States, with six matches being held at Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field in June and July 2026. Those matches will follow eight Club World Cup matches scheduled for June/July 2025 in the same venue.

The World Cup is the world's largest sports event, and Pennsylvania officials — including Gov. Josh Shapiro and Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker — are promoting the Philly matches aggressively. But soccer fans have their worries.

Shapiro is warning that the threat of major cuts to SEPTA (Philly's mass transit system) would be terrible for the event, and many civil libertarians fears that soccer fans will be afraid to visit the United States because of the Trump Administration's authoritarian immigration policies and accounts of tourists being held in detention camps by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Now, Vice President JD Vance's comments on the World Cup are being attacked as threatening to tourists.

Vance, on May 6, said, "We're thrilled to have the FIFA World Cup in the United States of America. I think that you'll see the very best of the United States of America, both in athletic competition, but also, in hospitality — something our boss knows quite a bit about…. Of course, everyone is welcome to come and see this incredible event…. I know 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. But when the time is up, they'll have to go home; otherwise, they'll have to talk to (Homeland Security) Secretary (Kristi) Noem."

It didn't take long for Vance's comments to draw some negative responses.

In one of her YouTube videos, Stella Magz — a liberal/progressive Bronx-based YouTuber known for commentaries that are both humorous and scathing — commented, "Ah, yes, nothing screams hospitality like threatening people to face a woman who shot her own dog. JD, it is bold of you to assume that anyone who can afford to travel for the World Cup would want to stay in this hellhole. But I would like the opportunity to also warn people who are planning to come to the United States for the World Cup: Don't come. It's not safe here."

Magz, who has around 121,000 subscribers on YouTube, continued, "You're not safe here. S---, we're not even safe here. People are getting swept up by ICE with no due process and thrown into detention facilities."

Vance's comments are also drawing a lot of criticism on X, formerly Twitter.

X user Robin Duggan tweeted, "Come one, come all! Celebrate global unity at the World Cup... but don’t get too comfortable, or Kristi 'Shoot First, Ask No Questions' Noem will personally escort you out.' They’ve somehow managed to turn an international celebration into a threatening deportation PSA with a side of awkward silence. JD Vance: where charisma goes to die and jokes go to get autopsied."

Asura Productions' Adam Shurey remarked, "There's nothing more welcoming than saying 'come here and watch a few soccer games, then immediately get the hell out or else.' Thanks JD."

Another X user, Denison Barb, commented, "And we wonder why tourism is down?

Activist Phil Robertson posted, "Message to @VP Vance: with all the arbitrary detentions of foreign visitors on ludicrous grounds by @ICEgov , don't be surprised if a lot of foreign fans decide to give a pass to a trip to the USA, and watch it at home. The US is no longer a safe destination for foreign tourists."

In a separate tweet, Robertson wrote, "It's about the foreign tourists who consider Trump and his @ICEgov minions to be a threat to their security. You can look at the drops in tourist arrivals if you're actually interested in FACTS, as opposed to right-wing ranting."

Historian Laurel A. Rockefeller tweeted, "Vance is destroying US tourism industry even further than Trump is. Of course it's 'Biden's fault' that regular visitors are canceling their trips here."

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