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Welcome to the ‘Disunited Cup’… FIFA awarded the World Cup to North America in 2018. The so-called “united bid” topped Morocco’s entry because FIFA saw an opportunity to generate $11B in profit. That's double Morocco’s projection.
Times have certainly changed. The US, Canada and Mexico are hardly united these days. Donald Trump has threatened to make Canada “our precious 51st state,” while its premier Mark Carney is doing everything to cement ties with Europe.
There’s been speculation that Canada may become a member of the EU, once the knotty problem of geographical location gets ironed out.
Trump has threatened to invade Mexico to take out its drug cartels unless its government decides to do the job.
Mexico president Claudia Sheinbaum has her own gripes with the US. She has blasted ICE detention policies that have resulted in the deaths of 15 of its citizens. ICE’s actions are “incompatible with human rights standards and the protection of life,” said a statement from Mexico’s government.
Sheinbaum also expressed solidarity with Cuba and sent a ship loaded with oil to the island in defiance of the US blockade of Cuba.
As the World Cup swings into action, Trump has threatened not to renew the USMCA trade deal that he negotiated. It expires on July 1.
“We don’t need anything that Canada has. We don’t need anything Mexico has, but they need everything that we have,” gruffed Trump.
Good luck to all the players in the World Cup. Let’s hope Team USA doesn’t take the pitch against either Canada or Mexico.
Sliding toward authoritarianism. The State Dept. is investigating whether to deport Trita Parsi, one of the most vocal critics of Trump’s invasion of Iran, according to a report in The Free Press.
Parsi is not exactly a bomb-thrower. He is co-founder and executive VP of the influential Quincy Institute of Responsible Statecraft. Born in Iran, Parisi moved with his family to Sweden at age four due to political repression in Iran. His father was jailed by both the Shah and then by Ayatollah Khomeini.
He has been published by the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, The American Conservative, The Nation, The Jerusalem Post, Los Angeles Times. He’s a frequent guest on CNN, PBS, NPR, BBC and Al Jazerra.
Holder of a green card, Parsi has lived in the US for more than 25 years. Revoking his green card is tantamount to ripping up the First Amendment.
Criticism of Trump’s Iranian misadventure does not make one an agent of Iran. A majority (57.4 percent) of Americans oppose the war.
Parsi is slated to serve on a June 23 Quincy webinar that will explore whether the Iran war will result in a rupture of US ties with Israel.
It’s already created a split between Trump, who is desperate to get out of the mess that he created, and Benjamin Netanyahu, who wants to finish off Iran.
We look forward to hearing what Parsi has to say.
WSJ ‘discovers’ comms… The computer must have misdirected me to the archives of the Wall Street Journal. That’s what I assumed when the screen displayed a story headlined: “The Revenge of the Publicists: How Comms Execs Stormed the C-Suite?”
The article must have surely run in the late '90s or early '00s. It was dated June 8, 2026.
It informed readers: “Communications professionals, previously relegated to the periphery, are now front and center in the C-suite, partly emboldened by CEOs’ fears that even the smallest misstep can balloon into a corporate disaster.”
This is not exactly news. Corporate PR people stormed the c-suite more than 25 years ago.
Legends Charlotte Otto (Procter & Gamble), Bill Nielsen (Johnson & Johnson) and Joyce Hergenhan (General Electric had the ear of their CEO.
High-level agency people, such as Dan Edelman, Harold Burson and Robert Dilenschneider enjoyed access to corporate leaders.
It’s just that the WSJ didn’t pay any attention to PR back in those days.
New York mayor Zohran Mamdani, an outspoken critic of Israel, is more popular among American Jews than prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu... Donald Trump is the first leader since Benito Mussolini in 1934 to intervene publicly in his national team’s favor... It's surprising that JD Vance hardly uses the word "Catholic" in his memoir about his conversion to Catholicism.
President Trump killed much of the positive PR that the US has enjoyed as one of the co-hosts of the World Cup... Pride in the US sinks to 25-year low, Gallup finds... White House trashes Smithsonian's US History Museum as the MAGA version of un-American.
Donald Trump claims we are all profiting from Wall Street's rising prices, but the billion-dollar president sure did a lot better than the rest of us... Venezuela hopes the $300M in US reconstructiion aid will follow the same growth trajectory as the White House's East Wing ballroom project.
Brands need to boost their PR to get noticed in today’s AI-oriented world, according to McKinsey & Co.’s “State of the Consumer 2026” report... Reevemark hits Chambers jackpot. All five of the founding partners of New York strategic communications firm were recognized in the prestigious Chambers and Partners rankings... SpaceX's $25B bond sale on the heels of $86B IPO signals that markets are entering “bubble territory.” 
LLYC has prepared a comprehensive must-read report on the rise of “Rainbow Ghosting” which it defines as the progressive withdrawal of public support for diversity... Success of the US men's World Cup team highlights the benefits of a welcoming immigration policy... Omnicom develops system to help marketers decide which sports fans to connect with.
