JD Vance trolled for his 'joking' threat to FIFA World Cup fans: 'Everybody's welcome but when the time is up...'

The Donald Trump administration has made sure that next year's FIFA World Cup will not give a leeway to foreign visitors to overstay in the US. Vice President JD Vance said international travelers are welcome to see this incredible event but when the time is up, they will have to go home.

The US will host the FIFA World Cup alongside Mexico and Canada. “Of course, everybody is welcome to come and see this incredible event,” Vice President JD Vance said at a World Cup task force meeting. “But when the time is up, they’ll have to go home. Otherwise, they’ll have to talk to Secretary Noem,” Vance said, referring to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem who is the face of Trump administration's crackdown --alongwith border czar Tom Homan.

JD Vance jokes about deporting people who come to watch the 2026 World Cup in the USA.

He isn't joking, don't take the chance. pic.twitter.com/BCizZcwUPK

— BladeoftheSun (@BladeoftheS) May 6, 2025

Relax on Vance's insane threat to jail international World Cup ticket holders if they don't leave the country immediately rather than stay here and spend tourism money

Watch. FIFA will be moving the World Cup elsewhere. https://t.co/qPZEAdICME

— Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) May 6, 2025

Even assuming JD Vance was joking about FIFA spectators and immigration, it undermines any assurance the US is trying to make. I know this world. Nobody is laughing. https://t.co/AFLjsNat3l https://t.co/trlcw76IKZ

— Juliette Kayyem (@juliettekayyem) May 6, 2025

“Quite a way to motivate foreign tourists,” Wall Street Journal chief foreign affairs correspondent Yaroslav Trofimov posted to X.

“Trying to decide if Vance is our most sycophantic VP of all time,” University of Illinois professor Kate Clancy wrote on Bluesky. “Please, no one come to the World Cup. We don't deserve your tourism dollars and you don't deserve the dangers.”

“Relax on Vance's insane threat to jail international World Cup ticket holders if they don't leave the country immediately rather than stay here and spend tourism money,” Olbermann wrote on X. “Watch. FIFA will be moving the World Cup elsewhere.”

But it was not only JD Vance who issued the stern warning. Transport secretary Sean Duffy also said the same thing when he asked fans to not stay in the US for too long. “If you’re coming to see some soccer ... go on a road trip. See America,” he said before he changed his tone. “Don’t overstay your visa. Don’t stay too long.”