Andrew Giuliani, head of the White House Task Force on the 2026 World Cup, brushed off President Donald Trump’s insinuation that tickets for next month’s opening match are too expensive.

Trump told The New York Post that he wouldn’t pay the estimated $1,000 price tag to root on the U.S. men’s national team in its opener against Paraguay on June 12.

“I would certainly like to be there, but I wouldn’t pay it either, to be honest with you,” Trump told The Post.

Giuliani, son of Trump attorney and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, defended the World Cup ticket prices as proof that the event is in demand.

The World Cup is put on by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association, or FIFA for short. The 2026 soccer championships will take place across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico starting in June.

“We look to FIFA as a private entity here, we don’t really believe in price controls,” Giuliani told The Financial Times. “That’s kind of like what dynamic pricing can do.”

The Associated Press reported that the cheapest official ticket for the U.S.-Paraguay opener was listed at $1,120 through FIFA’s official portal, while the cheapest tickets for the World Cup final were listed at $5,785 and premium seats climbed to $10,990.

“It actually shows just how sought-after it is to come to the United States for a World Cup,” Giuliani told The Financial Times.

But The Athletic reported Wednesday that “throughout the month of April, FIFA was seemingly only selling a few dozen U.S.-Paraguay tickets per day.”

“There are now plenty of U.S.-Paraguay tickets available on all resale platforms for prices cheaper than the ones that FIFA has clung to,” the report said.

FIFA spokespeople, however, continue to claim that “ticket sales for the FIFA World Cup remain strong with a high degree of interest for all matches,” the report said.

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