President Donald Trump will take center stage at Friday's World Cup draw in Washington, rolling out the welcome mat for teams and fans from around the globe at a time when his administration is expanding restrictions on travel to the United States for people from 19 countries and he has hardened his rhetoric against immigrants.
The administration is betting that its push to expedite visa processing for visitors and the excitement about the matchups for next summer’s tournament — hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico — will outweigh concerns that Trump's immigration messaging undercuts the theme of global unity that the World Cup is meant to represent.
