Sheinbaum’s mañanera in 60 seconds
- ⚽ World Cup final attendance takes center stage: Monday’s mañanera came a day after President Sheinbaum attended the FIFA World Cup final in New Jersey, seated with President Trump, First Lady Melania Trump and Prime Minister Carney — a trip with added weight given the tense state of the Mexico-U.S. relationship.
- ✈️ A last-minute military flight to NYC: Sheinbaum said she’d planned to skip the final until Trump personally invited her by phone on Friday. A canceled commercial flight forced a military flight instead, landing the delegation in the northeastern U.S. at 2 a.m. Sunday.
- 🤝 Brief chats with Trump’s cabinet: Sheinbaum said she spoke with Commerce Secretary Lutnick, U.S. Trade Representative Greer and Secretary of State Rubio at the match, describing the exchanges as short but cordial. Greer is expected in Mexico City Wednesday or Thursday.
- 🇲🇽🇺🇸 USMCA talks resume: Sheinbaum confirmed a new round of Mexico-U.S. USMCA review talks begins Monday, saying she’d also briefly discussed trade with Trump and Carney at the stadium and hopes for agreements this week.
- 🏛🦅 Defending the relationship with Trump: Asked about her personal rapport with Trump, Sheinbaum said Mexico must always seek good relations with the U.S. president, citing shared geography, diplomacy and the 40 million Mexicans living in the U.S., while stressing disagreements needn’t become personal.
- 🎤 Pushing back on critics: Sheinbaum argued she’d have been criticized either way — for skipping the final or for attending it — and noted neither Trump nor Carney attended their own countries’ World Cup openers. She framed the closing as a joint moment for the three co-hosts.
Why today’s mañanera matters
Today’s mañanera came a day after President Claudia Sheinbaum attended the FIFA men’s World Cup final between Spain and Argentina at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, just west of New York City.
Sheinbaum was seated with U.S. President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, among other officials, and participated in the post-match trophy ceremony.
The Mexican president’s attendance at the match, which Spain won 1-0 in extra time, was significant as it came at a crucial time in the Mexico-U.S. relationship. Sheinbaum’s brief visit to the U.S. came ahead of the commencement on Monday of a new round of trade talks between Mexico and the United States, which announced at the start of July that it had declined to extend the USMCA for an additional 16 years.
Beyond trade, there are tensions in the Mexico-U.S. security relationship for a range of reasons, including the CIA’s alleged participation in a drug lab raid in Chihuahua in April without the knowledge or authorization of the Mexican government, and U.S. prosecutors’ drug trafficking accusations against Sinaloa Governor Rubén Rocha Moya and nine other current and former Sinaloa-based officials.
In addition, the Mexican government recently filed criminal complaints in the United States as it seeks thorough investigations into the deaths of Mexicans in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers and in ICE operations.
Therefore, Sheinbaum’s remarks on Monday morning about her face-to-face interactions with U.S. officials, including Trump, took on added significance, even though she didn’t provide many details about them.
Sheinbaum explains why she decided to attend the World Cup final
Sheinbaum told reporters that before Friday, the only invitation she had received to attend the World Cup final was from FIFA.
“I was weighing up whether to go or not, but I had thought I wouldn’t attend,” she said.
Sheinbaum said she spoke by telephone to Trump on Friday and he personally invited her to attend the final.
“He said, ‘Claudia, are you going to come?’ And I said, ‘Well, if you invite me, President Trump.’ And he said, ‘Yes, you’re invited. Come. You’re going to be seated with us,’” she explained.
Sheinbaum said she consequently decided to go to the match. She noted that she and five aides got tickets to fly to New York from Cancún, but their flight was canceled due to stormy weather in New York.
Sheinbaum said she spoke to Defense Minister Ricardo Trevilla Trejo and organized a military flight to the United States.
“We arrived at about 2 in the morning [on Sunday]. Thank you to all the compatriots who waited for us outside the hotel. And early [on Sunday] we went to the stadium,” she said.
Sheinbaum: ‘I had the opportunity to speak to some Trump administration secretaries’
Sheinbaum said she had the opportunity to speak to some Trump administration secretaries who attended the World Cup final on Sunday.
She said she spoke to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
🇲🇽⚽ La final del Mundial también sirvió para la diplomacia. @Claudiashein aseguró que conversó brevemente con Donald Trump y Mark Carney sobre las negociaciones del T-MEC.
Además, sostuvo encuentros con Marco Rubio, Felipe VI y Pedro Sánchez durante su visita a Nueva York.… pic.twitter.com/qB3mIFq0qi
— Alicia Salgado (@AliciaSalgadoMX) July 20, 2026
“In reality, they were little moments,” Sheinbaum said without providing details of the conversations.
She said that all the U.S. officials at the stadium were “very respectful” and “pleasant.”
“[There was] an atmosphere of a lot of cordiality, also with the King of Spain, … with the Prime Minister of Spain,” Sheinbaum said.
“It was a good environment,” she said.
Sheinbaum says she spoke about trade with Trump and Carney
Sheinbaum said that she, Trump and Carney had the opportunity to briefly discuss trade, but didn’t provide many details of the conversation.
“With Canada [the United States] has other issues, the issue of security, because Canada belongs to NATO,” she said.
“… Remember that today this second round of conversations about the review of the USMCA begins and we hope to be able to reach some agreements this week,” Sheinbaum added.
She said she would welcome Ambassador Greer to Mexico City on Wednesday or Thursday.
In remarks early in her press conference, Sheinbaum also highlighted her social media post on Sunday after the completion of the World Cup.
In that post, she congratulated Spain and said that the three World Cup host countries — Mexico, the United States and Canada — showed that “when we work together, we are capable of making great projects reality and leaving a legacy of cooperation, friendship and hope for the world.”
Later in the press conference, when asked about her personal relationship with the U.S. president, Sheinbaum said that she and Trump “have sought a good relationship.”
“I think that Mexico must always seek a good relationship with the president of the United States and his government,” she said.
“First of all because we’re neighbors. Secondly because we always have to prioritize diplomatic relationships and promote a good-neighbor policy. And thirdly because there are 40 million Mexicans who live in the United States,” Sheinbaum said.
“In addition, there has to be respect between people. We can disagree with President Trump on issues, but we have no reason to make this a personal matter,” she said.
Sheinbaum said she spoke to Trump on Sunday about the aim of “reaching an agreement” regarding USMCA at this week’s bilateral trade talks.
“We didn’t go much beyond that,” she said.
“… And I raised other issues we want to talk about. Obviously we referred to Mexicans in the United States and other issues,” Sheinbaum said.
Damned if you do and damned if you don’t
Sheinbaum said that whether she went to the World Cup final or not, she would have faced criticism.
🗳️⚽️ Claudia Sheinbaum entrega el Balón de Oro a Rodri
La presidenta de México entregó el reconocimiento al mejor jugador del Mundial 2026 al capitán de España, tras la victoria 1-0 sobre Argentina en la final disputada en Nueva Jersey. 🇪🇸🏆 pic.twitter.com/Mev8cxW9Ka
— LuisCardenasMX (@LuisCardenasMx) July 19, 2026
“If we hadn’t gone, what would they have said?” she asked, referring to government critics.
“How is it possible that they leave Mexico’s position in a World Cup empty? Sheinbaum said.
“… If we go, [they say] ‘Why is she going? How is it possible?’” she said.
“‘What lack of coherence! How is it possible that she smiles alongside President Trump? … Why did she go to the closing [of the World Cup], but not the opening?’” Sheinbaum said before noting that neither Trump nor Carney attended the opening matches of the tournament in their respective countries.
“The closing was a matter of the three of us being together because the three of us, North America, organized [the World Cup],” she said.
By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies (peter.davies@mexiconewsdaily.
