You Might Also Like: Morning Wire

**SPEAKER_1** (0:01)
Ever wonder where Tropicana got its name? The tropics. And every time you enjoy a glass, you're not just drinking juice, you're taking a trip, stepping into sunshine and embarking on a flavorful journey into the tropics where ripe fruit is crafted into wildly delicious juice. And the best part, no passport required.
Tropicana, give life some juice.

**Georgia Howe** (0:30)
The US. Men's Team's historic run comes to an end, but the tournament continues to be a massive win for the country.

**SPEAKER_4** (0:37)
In this moment, we let them down, but I think altogether, people gravitated towards the team because we were relatable. We represented exactly what the US was.

**John Bickley** (0:46)
We walked through the highlights and the controversy of the World Cup.

**Georgia Howe** (0:49)
I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire Executive Editor, John Bickley. It's Tuesday, July 7th, and this is Morning Wire.

**John Bickley** (1:03)
A new sexual assault accusation rocks Maine Democrat Graham Platner. We have the details in the fallout.

**Jenny Rasicott** (1:10)
That was me recognizing what the situation was. He was heavily intoxicated, had intentions with me, and wasn't listening when I said no.

**Georgia Howe** (1:19)
And the preliminary hearing in the Charlie Kirk assassination trial has begun.

**SPEAKER_7** (1:23)
Kirk's parents and widow Erica are coming face to face with the man who is accused of killing him for the very first time.

**John Bickley** (1:32)
Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
Team USA's World Cup run has come to an end after falling to Belgium in the round of 16 But while Americans are understandably disappointed, there's a growing consensus that this tournament has still been an overwhelming success for the US.

**Georgia Howe** (1:51)
Joining us now is Daily Wire culture reporter Megan Basham. So Megan, before we get to the silver linings, first walk us through what happened last night. Obviously a crushing loss for a lot of Americans.

**Megan Basham** (2:03)
Yeah, it was tough. It was a tough 4-1 battle in Seattle. Fuller and Baligan was back in the lineup thanks to that last minute FIFA decision. And he did battle hard. But a lot of commentators felt that this was the US team's poorest performance in the World Cup. And Belgium was already up by two at halftime. In fact, at one point, there was some question over why the US team wasn't allowed to make some of the substitutions that the coaches wanted to make, but regardless, their efforts just came up short. Once Belgium scored this third goal, it was just too deep a hole for the US to crawl out of.
So heartbreaking on the scoreboard, but I think the bigger picture here is undeniable. Hosting this tournament has delivered historic victories for America that are going to go far beyond any single match result.

**Georgia Howe** (2:51)
Right, well, we're gonna get to some of those victories in just a minute, but I wanna talk about the Baligan Saga that happened before this most recent game. It was all people were talking about online, and there's been a lot of controversy over President Trump's involvement. So what happened and how did that play out?

**Megan Basham** (3:07)
Well, I think the first thing that has to be said here, Georgia, is that the president took a stand for fairness. That's what happened.
But seriously, Baligan scored in the 2-0 win over Bosnia, but he did pick up that harsh red card on a challenge that many viewed as questionable. FIFA initially imposed the automatic one-match suspension, and that would have sidelined him for Belgium, but then the president stepped in and made multiple calls to FIFA president Gianni Infantino after the game, asking for another review.

**Donald Trump** (3:40)
So I saw the play, and I'm a person that loves sports and was a good athlete, and I understand sports really well, really well.
And that wasn't a foul. That wasn't even an infraction. It was two guys running full speed that happened to crash into each other. You can't take your foot and properly place it on somebody else's foot when you're going, no, these were two great athletes that got tangled up. Yes, I asked for a review by FIFA.

**Megan Basham** (4:12)
So after this, FIFA's judicial committee used a little known provision in its disciplinary rules to suspend that automatic ban, allowing Baligan to play while also placing him on one-year probation.
Not too surprising, this sparked a lot of fury among Belgium fans who did not want to see Baligan in that game. Now, Infantino acknowledged that yes, Trump called him just as many heads of state call him, he said, but he emphasized that FIFA's judicial bodies are independent and he denied that pressure from the president played any role in this decision even if the president's patriotic efforts on half of America did result in plenty of funny memes.