Overview
- Multiple outlets report that President Trump privately favors FIFA president Gianni Infantino as his preferred candidate for U.N. secretary-general, a claim first published by the New York Post and repeated by other outlets.
- Infantino has not publicly accepted or commented on the idea, and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said she did not know whether Trump and Infantino had discussed the proposal.
- A successful bid would require the 15-member U.N. Security Council to recommend a candidate with no veto from any permanent member before the 193-member General Assembly could confirm the appointment, and informal regional-rotation expectations complicate a non–Latin American pick.
- Infantino’s recent World Cup decisions, most notably the reversal that allowed U.S. striker Folarin Balogun to play, provoked formal criticism from UEFA and some European lawmakers and could erode diplomatic support for a U.N. nomination.
- The move would force a practical choice for Infantino between seeking another FIFA term or accepting a roughly $5.6 million pay cut to take the U.N. job, and a U.S.-backed campaign could reshape Washington’s ties with the United Nations.