Kane sparks social media storm after praising Trump at press conference

Harry Kane ignited a media firestorm at the worst possible time for England. At a press conference on the eve of the World Cup quarter-final against Norway, the Three Lions captain confirmed he had played a round of golf with Donald Trump eighteen months ago in Palm Beach, and spoke glowingly of the American president.

It had all started a few days earlier, when Trump himself mentioned the encounter: “I think Kane is an excellent player. I played golf with him and I like him very much. He’s a good golfer too.” The Bayern Munich striker did not dodge the subject. “When the president invites you somewhere, it’s quite a surreal experience to meet him and obviously to play golf with him. Frankly, he plays pretty well. I hope I can play as well as him at his age, that’s for sure. I was really grateful that he invited me.”

Those words were enough to trigger an avalanche of criticism on social media. Many supporters reproached Kane not for accepting the invitation — “you don’t refuse an invitation from the President of the United States,” some noted — but for multiplying compliments with enthusiasm. “It would have been fine if he’d just said he invited him and they played. But he had to go on about how good he is. And he says he’s grateful,” one user summed up. Other messages, far more virulent, referenced the policies Trump has pursued since the start of his second term.

The controversy comes at a particularly delicate moment for the English national team. On Saturday night, Kane and his teammates face Norway’s Erling Haaland with a place in the World Cup semi-finals at stake. England could have done without this distraction.