Is Trump’s America scaring fans off the World Cup? | The News Agents

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Donald Trump is not a great export for America and tourism.

You're talking to the number one fan of the president of the United States.Where people's social media have been checked is absolutely no different whatsoever under Joe Biden, under Trump one or under President Obama.

Of course, everybody is welcome to come and see this incredible event.I know we'll have visitors probably from close to 100 countries.We want them to come.We want them to celebrate.We want them to watch the game.But when the time is up, they'll have to go home.

Otherwise, they'll have to talk to Secretary Noem.

That is J .D.Vance a year ago sort of welcoming people to America for the World Cup, which starts in just 10 days time.But has that message about just get the hell out when it's over had a chill effect.

America has suffered an £8bn decrease on tourism spending in the last year.Is this a referendum by the world on Donald Trump?Welcome to The News Agents.

It's John.It's Maitlis.Welcome back.Thank you very much.And it's lovely to be back from Australia.But let us talk about America, the World Cup, tourism numbers in a moment.

We're going to be speaking to Donald Trump's newly appointed ambassador for tourism, the special envoy who will be drumming up business for the U .S.of A. which is quite a difficult job right now given that the World Cup is just 10 days away and people seem to be staying away and it's partly the effect of rising fuel costs.The price of air tickets have gone up.Well, maybe the Iran war has something to do with it.You're also seeing incredible price gouging going on, where people are being charged extortionate sums of money.

That's also having an effect.So greed is playing a role in it as well.Also, you've got ICE officers patrolling cities.If you're brown or black and you're from Latin America or from Africa, which Donald Trump once referred to as the shithole countries, do you really want to go to the US right now and face the possibility that you might have to produce your passport?So all of these factors are having a chill effect, which means that stadiums are not going to be full.but for a very few matches.

That chill effect is not just a vibes thing.It's borne out by the numbers.America was the only major country to report a decline in international visitors last year.Visitors from Canada, you'll be shocked to hear, traditionally one of the largest pipelines of foreign tourism, plummeted by 21%.Why would that be?Germany.

Also, a big drop, decline of 11 .3%.Just a couple of weeks ago, a story that might have passed us by was Frederick Merz, the actual chancellor of Germany, saying he wouldn't want his children to be studying or living or working in the US.Now, maybe the German chancellor had a particular beef with an American president who had started to pull some of his troops out of the country.That might be a very personal thing.But clearly the numbers are telling a story in their own right.We know that tourism to America was down by 5 .5 % last year.

That is a drop in actual spending terms of around $8 billion.So something is not working right now.Something is not going well.And in a World Cup year, the question you should be asking is how much over and above normal tourism, are we going to see?How much more money is America going to be making?What will the boost be?

What will the boost be to spending, to numbers, to ticket sales, all the rest of it?Which is what makes us so odd, because 80 % of the hotels in US host cities are saying they're just not getting the bookings.They had anticipated, they were preparing for them, and those bookings are not coming in for all the questions you raise.Is it about greed?Is it about fear?There is now an actual visa programme that the US brought in last December which includes 42 countries where they have warned citizens that they may be asked about the last five years of their social media posts.

Imagine if you're thinking of going to the World Cup and you think, Oh, I wonder if I just have to scratch my phone of everything I might have put on Twitter, on Instagram, on Facebook, whatever, in the last five years because I don't really want to be rounded up.

once I land?Well, the Germans issued a specific travel advisory on that, warning their citizens that if they go to the United States, their social media history could be examined when they get to the border.And who wants to fly into JFK airport, meet a border force person who says, let me see that.I'm sorry, you're not coming in.You're on the next flight back home.And so I think that it has had an effect on people thinking, am I really welcome here?

Because the one thing you want to do, you know, Why would you go to a country where you feel unwelcome?And I think that there's so much of the language of Donald Trump.He was trying to create an atmosphere where he doesn't want illegal immigrants to go anywhere.wants the right sort of migrants to be coming into the country, or the right sort of visitors to be coming into the country.And here you have a World Cup where people are coming from all over the world, from a lot of countries that Donald Trump probably doesn't care very much about.And I think that an awful lot of people are thinking, you know what, I don't want to go to America right now.

And further to your point, I know people, professionals, highly qualified, who take in burner phones now to America.They do not take their smartphone with them where they have to hand it over, unlock it, and so that some border force person can decide whether they like what they see or not.And so they take in a kind of ordinary cheap Nokia phone because they think life will be a lot easier like that and they won't have to answer those sort of questions.

Look, there is 10 days to play for.as they say, right?There is every chance that the hotel prices are going to be slashed, that they're going to offer more tickets for sale, that it's going to be easier to get hold of the games that you really want to go to, and that there will be an amazing, tremendous World Cup.We all hope that that happens.But the fact that this story, these numbers have preceded the World Cup.These are figures coming out of the last year.

Four million visitors fewer in 2025 seems to suggest it is not just about the greed of the World Cup.It is not just about the warnings that they've issued in the last two weeks.It is about something which is potentially more profound.And I guess the question that we're trying to ask really is, is the Donald Trump effect putting people off America.

studio.

The fact that you're with us here 10 days before the start of the World Cup suggests that things aren't going that well.

Emily, I would have come earlier if you'd invited me.Look, I'm here because of the World Cup, but not for any sinister reason.I'm here because there is a little window that I've got at the last moment to push through and make sure that we maximise our attendance at the World Cup.We're doing really well.All of the data that is coming across my desk suggests that we are experiencing a rebound, an uptick, whether it's data from Sirium, the aviation data analysts, whether it's the World Travel and Tourism Council.And I'd be happy to get into all of that.

But we're looking good.We're very excited.

It's going to be spectacular.You're the only major country to report decline in visitors in the last year.The only major country to report a decline.But it's changing.Yeah, but that's not a great place to start from in a World Cup year.

Well, first of all, it's last year.It's not this year.And the World Cup's this year.But there's no doubt, Emily, you're quite right.There was a dip last year.But it's a dip.

And I suspect that some of that dip at minimum, can be attributed to the fact that people around the world knew that 2026 was going to be America's year.Good spin.Nice try.Good spin.

I'm telling you.You don't think it's anything to do with the fact that maybe people find America a less than welcoming place right now when you could when you arrive at the border have your social media handles looked at and all of those things the German foreign ministry issuing travel advisories to their citizens saying this could happen when you go to America right now doesn't make it feel like America really wants you that much well John let me tell you if you really want to know what coming to

the United States as a tourist is like now, my advice to anybody listening would be to go and speak to their neighbors, to their friends, to their colleagues at work that have recently visited.Because you're quite right, there are some perceptions that are out there.that are totally and utterly wrong.America is not unsafe.America is not expensive.America is not unwelcoming.

The American people are not inhospitable.Social media is not an issue for 99 .9 % of people traveling to the US.No policy has been implemented to check people's social media.I have spoken with the Department of Homeland Security and all of the agencies, and they assure me that the number of instances where people's social media have been checked since the beginning of the Trump administration from January 20, 2025, is absolutely no different whatsoever to how many people had their social media checked under Joe Biden, under Trump 1, or under President Obama.Okay.

Ambassador, let me just pause you there for a minute because I want to play you a clip of the Vice President, JD Vance, talking last summer about the World Cup.

So that was the Homeland Security Secretary.

You can come to the World Cup, but sod off once it's over.John, I think he was having a bit of a joke.

You can tell at the end.And we obviously don't want people to...

Well, do you like that message?What do you want people to break?

You don't want people to break the law either.No, but do you like that message?It doesn't make you sound new with that look.Well, look...my message would be come to the United States, have a great time, make memories that last you a lifetime, take them home with you and that's it.

And that's really what he said.Was the Homeland Security Secretary who was pictured in the El Salvador jail.I mean, at the time, she was wearing, I think, a $50 ,000 watch.She was pictured in the El Salvador jail.Is it helpful when the vice president of the country that you're trying to promote sends out a message like that, that our immigration officials are going to deal with you?Is that helpful?

Emily, look, I respectfully, I like both of you.We've only known each other for a few minutes, but I think you're taking this a little too seriously.And I don't think that there's anything wrong with what the vice president said.He was using a little bit of humour.I think that the United States can protect its borders while at the same time opening its doors.And we've proved that with the Global Entry Program.

Except that your numbers have massively dropped.So it's fine that he says it with a sense of humour.Great.I love the idea that JD Vance has suddenly conjured up a sense of humour.But it's having a real -time effect, and it's having an effect on America's business, on its tourism, on the $8 billion that should have come in last year that were down.It's having an effect on 4 million tourists that should have come last year that were down.

So it's not just a joke, is it?

Emily, I've acknowledged to you that there was a dip last year.I've also told you that all the data seems to suggest that that's over, that we are doing really well.

Can I just ask you about that?Because Canada, specifically down 21%, do you think they were just waiting?Do you think they were just waiting or do you think they were slightly offended by what Donald Trump said about invading them?

Like I told you, I think a lotpeople were thinking, do I go in 2025?Or do I go in 2026?

When Denmark is down 20 %?Do you think the Danes were just waiting for this year?Or do you think they might have been offended by the remarks about Greenland?

I mean, I'm just asking.I appreciate it.You can go through every country if you like.And that's no problem.My answer is always take those on.

Let me ask you another question, then.Why are hotels slashing the prices?for rooms and I'm going to the World Cup.Oh good.You'll have to tell me which games.I'll tell you afterwards.

Well I'm actually going to a game in Mexico City so I'm not going to the US but the hotel prices are being slashed because people are not coming.People have not been making the bookings.Stadiums are not sold out but for a very few games.Even for the US games they're not sold out.

I have to push back against that strongly.That is not the reality.That is what is being reported.I can tell you, I'm talking to hotel people all the time, the hotel rooms, the overnights are going up.You know that when it comes to a mega event like a World Cup, like the FIFA World Cup, there will always be 11th hour, last minute tickets.

Sure, but I'm telling you that hotels that I've looked at, genuinely for myself and my son, those prices have come down.They have been a fraction of what they were a few months ago.Now that says to me one of two things.One is that the hotels have made so much money they're just feeling philanthropic right now or the hotels are empty and they're desperate to fill them up.

Look, again, all I can share with you is that the data that I get, and I'm in the very fortunate position to have access to some data that the rest of the world doesn't.I can tell you that we're very pleased with where we're at.I can tell you that this World Cup is going to be hugely successful.I'm looking forward to welcoming you in person.

Will you clear up a couple of things for us?

Is Iran...If I can.

Are Iranians allowed in?

Well, I don't know what the latest is on that.I know they were basing themselves out of Mexico, and that's all I know at this time.Because one of the big games is in California, right?

And I think it's one of the best -sell games.Iran -New Zealand.Iran -New Zealand is in California, but we don't actually know if the Iranians are allowed in to watch it.I'll take that question on notice, and I'll let you know.because I can't answer you right now.Fair enough.

But do you not feel weird as the tourism czar, as the ambassador, with Trump's message coming out and saying, yeah, we just don't know who's allowed into the country right now or not?

No, not really.Look, I mean, these things are fluid.There are political realities.There's all kinds of things happening in the world.The broader message is..

.Was that helpful if you were on war?

The broader message is that we want the world to know that they are welcome to come and celebrate with us.We want them to know that the 50 states are like 50 different countries.There's a hundred reasons to visit each and every single one of them.We have unmatched landscapes.We have everything for everybody.No matter what cranks your tractor, no matter what floats your boat, I guarantee you the United States of America has got it.

And I'm sure both of you have been, and both of you can attest to that.

No, I think the national parks of America are absolutely fantastic.I lived in America for eight years.I'm, you know, fully signed up to all of that.But I'm just saying to you that I think that around the world, Donald Trump is not a great export for America and tourism.Because, you know, I mean, I can't help but notice your accent doesn't sound that American to me.It sounds rather more Australian.

I mean, you know, Donald Trump intervenes in the Australian election and the reverse happens of what he wants.People are slightly put off by him.Don't you accept that?You must see that.By what happened with the fact that Albanese got re -elected in Australia.it looked like it was a shoe -in for Dutton.

You're talking to the number one fan of the President of the United States.I have been with him since the 16th of June 2015 when he came down the escalator with his beautiful wife Melania.I've never left his side.I get him.I understand him.I like him.

He has given me this role.He wants me to showcase the best of America.That's what I'm trying to do.

Nick, with respect, a good friend would say, Trump, you're not helping yourself.Because this is starting to feel like a referendum by the world on what the world thinks of Donald Trump, right?

reject the premise of your question.And far be it from me to question or...

Listen, question away.I'm just saying there are things that the president could do, presumably, which would make your job easier in terms of selling America to the rest of the world.

He has been a great leader.for the United States of America.

He's threatened Canada, he's threatened Greenland, he's threatened Germany, he's invaded Iran.

I want you to remove the politics out of it and look at the individual.How?If you listen to me you might have a chance.This is a man who is resilient.This is a man that is courageous.This is a man that has had multiple assassination attempts on his life.

He's put ICE agents on the streets of his cities.He's seen people taken off, deported to detention centres without any trial, any justification.He's scared people into coming to your country, not your country, but America.

No, it is my country.

I'm so sorry.I apologise in that case.I'm sorry, the accents confuse me.

Why should the accents You don't have British, there's a lot of people in Britain that have different accents.

I'd probably make that mistake as well.I'm sorry.So he has showed people what can happen to them if they are brown -skinned, if they are Latino, if they don't have their documentation on you at the exact moment when the ICE agents appear on the streets in front of them.You know this has gone on.You've seen what's happened.We were in Minnesota at the beginning of the year.

You've watched a man who has made it very clear what his feelings are towards immigration migrants?

Emily, you don't know the man. I do know the man. I can tell you that he's a great man. I can tell you that he's all about putting the American people first.He's about protecting our borders.But he doesn't have to convince you.

Sorry, he doesn't have to convince you.He has to convince everyone who's like me who doesn't know him.

But most importantly, most importantly, he cares so much about the things that you're saying that he doesn't, that he's appointed me to to go and invite the world to come and celebrate with us, to increase international visitors.

I totally understand what you've just said about, you know, he's there for America first.That's fine.That's great for the internal audience of the United States, of those who want to support him.And they supported him decisively in the 2024 election.No doubt about that, the American people voted for him.But in terms of his attitudes towards the rest of the world, I mean, in the first term there was the famous occasion when he called Africa the shithole countries.

If you're African, maybe you don't think I want to go to a country where the president thinks I come from a shithole.At the end of the day, it's up to - God, just answer that specifically.

But there's nothing to answer.I mean, at the end of the day, it's up to people all around the world to decide where they want to visit for recreation.

And they are doing.

But let me just tell you.First of all, America is the biggest tourism industry in the world, the biggest tourism sector.Now, tourism is not the United States' biggest sector, but the United States' tourism sector is the biggest.world's biggest tourism sector.Internally.Internally, that's a lot of people traveling within America because it's a fantastic country.

Yes, but we also have an amazing amount of international visitors.But I just want to make this point.Tourism and travel is about fun.It's where you take the political blinkers off and you decide to go and explore.You decide to go and nourish your soul.

But it's not about if you think you might get arrested or deported or sent to El Salvador.But that's not going to happen.

That's not going to happen.I've told you that.And that's just not true.These are things that you're repeating ad nauseum.No, it's not about whether it happens or not.It's whether people fear that.

But maybe.But that perception has been developed by people that have sought to injure the American economy.Like the ICE agents.Right at the 250th birthday.

Well, let me ask you this question then.Do you think that the pictures we saw of ICE agents randomly rounding up people in Minneapolis at the beginning of the year and they were just being arrested because if they were brown and they didn't have a passport on them or a driver's license they were being detained.Citizens shot on their own streets.I mean the guy who was in charge of this operation has now been fired but don't you accept that if you're there selling tourism that makes it a bloody sight more difficult?

I have the best job in the world.because America can sell itself.That's a swerve.Come on, Nick.You and I have seen it.That's a swerve.

You're not answering the question.I am the least politician type person you've had on this show.I can guarantee you.I call it how it is. I'm telling you.What did you think of what happened at Minneapolis?I'm not here to talk about what happened in Minneapolis.

No, you just said you call it like it is.Come on, least politician.Yes, yes.

Don't burst the blood vessel.Both of you are very experienced.today.We're having huge fun.I'm the most relaxed person here, I can tell you.But Minneapolis is a place where people should come and visit.

They should also come and visit Chicago.They should also come and visit Las Vegas, San Antonio, Miami, Nashville.The United States is a welcoming, hospitable, safe place.That's the reality.And no matter what you might have been convinced of, no matter what you might hear on the television, I am here to tell you, anyone that's been recently to America as a tourist will tell you, it was a divine experience.Nick Adams, thank you so much.

It's been a real pleasure.Thanks for coming in.Let's do it again.

to you now about a Facebook whistleblower.Her name is Sarah Wynne -Williams and about a year ago, in fact of March of last year, I interviewed Sarah in what was her first ever broadcast interview.What I didn't realise at the time was it would also be the last broadcast interview that she was ever allowed to give, that was in fact ever aired, because she brought out a memoir, Careless People, it actually became a best -selling memoir, detailing her years working at Facebook and the malpractice that she alleges happened there.Shortly after its publication, she faced essentially a slap order, a silencing, a gagging order, a legal writ which stopped her from ever talking about the book again.And so she has essentially fundedbeen silenced.

And the reason that we're talking about this today is that she was invited to the Hay Literary Festival which has been taking place over the past few days and she took part in a panel discussion where she wasn't allowed to utter a word, where she couldn't nod or shake her head in agreement or disagreement, such is the extent of the gagging order that has been imposed.And the people who organized the Hay Festival told the audience that this was going to be the case and they said this was an important act of solidarity for the silenced.And her lawyer has come out and said, okay, This is an arbitration ruling, an interim arbitration ruling, that was made in California.She is UK -based.If you think there is something that is untrue or libelous in this account, sue her.Come and sue us for libel.

Because in the UK courts, fact is an absolute defense, and they say that everything in her book is absolutely factual.But that hasn't happened.

Yeah.Careless People essentially contained allegations about Meta's internal culture, about its decision -making, claims relating to political influence, the company's approach to China, and concerns, critically, about the well -being of its child users.Meta has disputed the book's claims.But instead of us two, sitting here, telling you about the things that Sarah Wynne -Williams was writing about in her memoir, careless people, we thought we would just play to you her voice, her own words, her description of what happened because we have not been gagged and you can still hear.Sarah Wynne -Williams through the newsagents.It doesn't sound like Mark Zuckerberg is careless.

It starts to sound like you think he's dangerous.Do you?

I think he's a careless person and I think when you have that amount of power it matters.I think The way that these products, you know, the way Instagram has infiltrated our lives, the way WhatsApp has infiltrated our lives, we have so much power to shape how we experience the world we're in.And I think the challenge is when you have that much power and when you're surrounded by people who enable it because they derive their wealth and their security from it, I think you just lose touch.with what matters.You lose touch with the real world.And it's, until you've experienced it, it's very hard to believe.

I mean, I, I talk about how he's, how he's in a bubble and you think of a bubble as a sort of flimsy, transparent, but with him, it's like a thick, opaque fortress.Like there's just no understanding of how much damage these products can have, but also just how the real world, operates and yet he's making all these decisions.

You talk about real -world consequences with Facebook in Myanmar and Burma and you say if you're on the internet in Myanmar Facebook is built into all the phone systems and you call it lethal carelessness.Facebook leaders see how Facebook is inflaming tensions and they do nothing.Virulent hate speech circulating in Myanmar most of the timetarget Rohingya Muslim population and your content operation is based in Dublin and your complaint button doesn't work and the translation is all wrong because nobody speaks Burmese and the guy in Dublin is out to dinner on the wrong time zone when a riot is kind of kicking off.I mean how much responsibility does Facebook bear for what happened?in that terrible period of Burma, of Myanmar's history.

So not just me, but the United Nations, who did a really extensive report, decided that Facebook bore a lot of responsibility, that they were directly responsible for inflaming and spreading hate speech and directly leading to the genocide.But I think what's so challenging with so much of this stuff, and partly why I think it's helpful just to see it all in one place is that these aren't necessarily things that the company does.It's the things they don't do.It's the, it's a sort of sins of omission where all these things, these bad things are happening.You know, teens are committing suicide after being bullied on the product.You know, there are riots that could be in many different places around the globe.

Myanmar's just one example that have fuelled, instigated on the platform.You've got all these sort of bubbles of patriotic sort of coming together.And it's not so much that they do something specific, it's that they do nothing.They know.They know and they do nothing.

I suppose you could argue that actually the premise that Facebook set up was we are a platform, we're not editorial, we're not publishers, this is a tool that we're offering to the world, but it's almost impossible to moderate, you know, how do you decide what is peopleprotest?How do you decide what is terrorism versus what is freedom fighting?Can that ever really be on one man's shoulders or one company's shoulders?

I don't deny that there's complexity.I've lived in the complexity for many, many years, but there are moments that I try and capture throughout these stories where it's not close.If a 13 -year -old girl is feeling worthless, don't target her with a beauty ad.If there's a riot going on, make sure you have a way to take down the stuff that is creating the riot that's killing people.I don't think these are things where it's like, hmm, kind of a hard decision to do here.

Do you think Facebook's responsible for deaths?

I think there's a lot of documentation in, for example, in that United Nations report that directly attributes it to Facebook.

You say about Burma, Myanmar, every turn when Facebook leaders see how FB is flaming tensions and making unstable situation worse, they do nothing.The truth is inescapable.Myanmar would have been far better off than if Facebook had never arrived there.What does far better off mean then?

So I was one of the first Facebook employees to visit Burma and Myanmar and it was just a crazy experience because it's one of the few countries where they didn't have desktop because the country was so sealed off.They went straight from no internet to mobile.So you could see what it would be like if our only, you know, in many ways, I think our early experience of the internet has saved us because this country where everyone went straight to mobile, and they had the power to fire off whatever, no, nothing came down.And when I met these people, they're like,you know, Facebook is the homepage for our country.And that homepage led to the most horrific, horrific genocide.

So I think, I think it's one of those things where we as we use it, you know, either in the UK or in other places around the world, we experience one version of these products, but there's a much worse version out there.And without the few, you know, limits that are in place here, it's so much, but that gives you some idea of like how the product is designed.Like if it's in a place where there's nothing to hold it back, that's what happened.

Are you prepared for what happens?when those at Facebook respond to what you've written?Do you think you'll get sued for this?

It's a company that believes in freedom of speech, so I'm really hoping that they live their values.Are you worried?Look, I really hope that the leaders of the company read the book and see many of our shared experiences and hopefully reflect.

That was just a taste of the interview that Sarah Wynne -Williams gave us here on the News Agents last year.If you want to hear the whole episode, her whole interview, you can find it on that News Agents entire episode.It's called Inside the Murky World of Facebook.

Just before we go, and probably by the time you've listened to this, the latest slew of documents about Peter Mandelson, his appointment as ambassador, will have come out.They're not due for another hour as we sit here, so I suspectwhat's in them...Whether it is a further embarrassment for the government will be something we shall come back to on tomorrow's episode of the newsages.

We have got quite a big night ahead of us because we're expecting the next drop to run at a thousand pages which includes 160 pages worth of text messages and whatsapps.Now remember there is no way of certifying if they have all the messages so all we're getting are the messages that have been happily openly relinquished and given up to this sort of parliamentary process called the Humble Address.The Humble Address is basically a process where they ask everyone who has been part of the messaging kind of apparatus to get in touch and hand over all evidence relating to Peter Mandelson and that appointment.

And also the smart political operatives have disappearing messages activated on WhatsApp.Therefore, they will have long gone into the ether, unobtainable by anyone.

And the unsmart ones say they do.

Yeah, exactly.But I should imagine that there'll be some red faces around Westminster at some of the things that have been said or asked for or commented on in exchanges with Peter Mandelson when he was in his pomp and at the height of his powers.

And I guess we're looking to see if there were any direct messages, communications, primarily between the Prime Minister and his future ambassador.to Washington.But we will be bringing you all that, no doubt, tomorrow.We'll see you then.Bye bye.Bye for now.

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