Dozens of mayors and other local leaders gathered in a Washington hotel ballroom on a snowy January morning, dominated by anger and anxiety over the federal government's increasingly aggressive immigration enforcement operation, which included the deaths of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis. Then FIFA President Gianni Infantino took the stage.

"For the first time in 250 years of history of the United States of America, well, not only will you be invaded, but you will be conquered," Infantino said as the audience at the National Conference of Mayors reacted mostly with silence.

"You will be conquered by soccer," he added, trying to land the joke and rally the crowd ahead of the World Cup, which the United States, Mexico, and Canada are co-hosting.

Ahead of the tournament that begins Thursday, June 11, Infantino has successfully courted President Donald Trump, creating a peace prize awarded to the president and visiting the White House frequently, including a stop last week when he was photographed alongside Trump admiring changes outside the Oval Office.

In a deeply polarized country, few things unite elected leaders outside the White House as much as skepticism toward Infantino and FIFA. That sentiment cuts across the partisan divide and extends from Washington to state capitals and city halls.

Bipartisan criticism over ticket prices

Mayors such as Democrats Zohran Mamdani of New York and Karen Bass of Los Angeles have raised objections to ticket prices. Mamdani eventually secured 1,000 tickets for New Yorkers at $50 per seat. The attorneys general of New York and New Jersey, also Democrats, launched an investigation last month into ticket pricing. In New Jersey, Governor Mikie Sherrill, another Democrat, demanded FIFA assistance to cover millions in transportation costs before ultimately relying on new advertising revenue to help cover the deficit.

Despite his ties to Infantino, even Trump has criticized World Cup ticket prices, telling The New York Post he would not pay the $1,000 cost to watch the United States in its opening match against Paraguay.

In an interview, Republican Senator Todd Young of Indiana, who played Division 1 soccer at the U.S. Naval Academy, argued that FIFA has been "disconnected from everyday people around the world."

"It's really a cabal run by elites," Young added. "They've really had corruption problems over the years, and you get the sense that they may be overlooking their unique mission, which is to help grow the sport, especially among young people around the world who otherwise wouldn't have the resources to access soccer."

"Every good soccer fan who loves international soccer wishes Infantino were a little less in the news and promoted the game more," Democratic Representative Rick Larsen said in an interview.

A FIFA representative did not respond to a request for comment.

FIFA skeptics said they were nonetheless excited about the 48-team tournament. Some lawmakers noted that Infantino was navigating a difficult political environment in the United States. Infantino "is doing the work he needs to do in terms of cultivating the relationship with the Trump administration," said Representative Darin LaHood, Republican of Illinois and chairman of the Congressional Soccer Caucus.

The sport is central to Trump's second term

The World Cup inaugurates a series of events central to Trump's second-term effort to burnish his image and legacy through association with high-profile sporting events. This month he will host a UFC fight on the White House South Lawn. It all culminates with the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, the final year of Trump's presidency.

But the soccer tournament unfolds against the backdrop of an intensely divided political climate in the United States. Only 37% of U.S. adults approve of how Trump is handling the presidency, according to a May survey from the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Even so, Trump is intensifying efforts to place himself at the center of American life, particularly during the 250th anniversary celebrations of U.S. independence. He has undertaken a massive renovation of Washington and plans to head "The Great American State Fair" on June 24.

Trump plans to attend Monday's NBA Finals between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs at Madison Square Garden. As head of state, Trump is expected to be at the World Cup final in July.

Trump's challenge with the World Cup

But the World Cup poses a challenge for an administration that has placed aggressive immigration enforcement at the top of its agenda. The most visible aspects of Trump's anti-immigration measures, including high-profile detentions in cities like Chicago and Minneapolis, have largely calmed. And the administration has sought to adopt a welcoming posture toward World Cup visitors, suspending, for example, a requirement that travelers from countries that qualified for the tournament and purchased tickets pay up to $15,000 in bonds to enter the United States.

But the White House is still considering hardline options to punish those it perceives as opponents. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has threatened to halt customs processing at airports serving cities whose local governments resist Trump's immigration policies. And intense confrontations at an immigration center in New Jersey, about 10 miles from where the World Cup final will be played, serve as reminders of the challenges the White House faces.

Speaking with reporters in Miami last week, Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House World Cup Task Force, said, "If you are in the country legally, then you have nothing to worry about."

"We want people to be able to come here and enjoy this World Cup while ensuring we can keep the country safe," he stated.

There are signs that the political divisions running through much of American culture also apply to the World Cup. Democrats and independents are more likely than Republicans to say they plan to watch World Cup matches, according to a May Ipsos poll. Earlier surveys found Democrats were more likely to be "very" or "somewhat" interested in the matches.

Although Republicans are less eager to tune in, they feel a stronger sense of national pride than Democrats about the U.S. team's performance and participation in the World Cup. Nearly two-thirds of Republicans said the U.S. team's participation makes them proud to be American, compared with just under half of Democrats.

But for soccer enthusiasts in Washington, the hope is that the tournament can offer a rare respite from constant partisan battle.