Quote · The Ben Shapiro Show
Friendly Fire: The JD Vance Debate, Midterm Madness & Return of the Firing Squad
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World Cup 2026, FIFA Controversy, and American Soft Power
At 5:54 · chapter starts 3:45
The show kicks off not with policy but with sports, as the hosts react to FIFA's controversial red card that knocked the US out of World Cup contention. Michael Knowles is characteristically blunt: he hates soccer, considers it a third-world sport, and doesn't want America to be good at it. Ben Shapiro hedges — if America gets good at it, maybe it becomes important. But it's Ben Domenech who delivers the most memorable argument: the 2026 World Cup hosted in the United States has been a soft power triumph of historic proportions. [1] — Ben Domenech "Forget Pentagon budgets. Foreign fans came for the World Cup and discovered Buc-ee's, Waffle House, and air conditioning. Ben Domenech argu…" 05:54 Foreign fans have returned home inspired by air conditioning, working showers, Buc-ee's, and Waffle House — demanding their politicians explain why their countries don't offer the same. A fan nicknamed 'Freddie' went viral and was even invited to the White House, though he faced internet backlash for allegedly right-of-center past tweets. Knowles concedes that Domenech's soft power argument is the best case for caring about soccer he has ever heard.
Forget Pentagon budgets. Foreign fans came for the World Cup and discovered Buc-ee's, Waffle House, and air conditioning. Ben Domenech argues the 2026 tournament may be America's biggest soft power export in decades — and it didn't cost the defense budget a cent.
