Andrew Giuliani Is the World Cup's 'Administration Whisperer'

Andrew Giuliani, once best known as the fidgety kid at his father's 1994 mayoral inauguration in New York City, is now the Trump administration's point man on what he calls "the largest sporting event in the history of the world." The New York Times reports on the 40-year-old son of Rudolph Giuliani's appointment to serve as executive director of the White House Task Force on the FIFA World Cup 2026, making him the central US government figure for a tournament spread across the US, Canada, and Mexico. His remit: Navigate security threats, visa snarls for millions of visitors, host-city worries over immigration enforcement, and touchy coordination with FIFA—all while serving as a kind of "administration whisperer" who can get the president's attention when cities need money or decisions made on related matters.

"There were mayor murmurings: 'Did you get your money yet?'" Atlanta Democratic Mayor Andre Dickens says. "You'd pick up the phone and call Andrew, and he was confident: 'Don't worry. It's going to happen.'" The Times sketches how a onetime aspiring pro golfer and golf buddy of President Trump parlayed access into an unusually high-stakes role, despite skepticism from FIFA officials. Supporters see a loyal fixer with direct lines to power; critics see inexperience and political risk in a politically supercharged World Cup. In the end, it's Giuliani who will prove which is correct. "This is Trump's showcase," Guardian Angels founder and former NYC mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa says. "I would not want to be Andrew Giuliani if anything went wrong." More here.