Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a Texas Democrat, suggested at a House Oversight subcommittee hearing that racial history may have shaped some fans’ preferences during the 2026 World Cup final between Argentina and Spain as she questioned Yale historian David Blight.
Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) brought up the World Cup during a House Oversight subcommittee hearing on July 21, 2026, titled “Rewriting American History: Examining the Smithsonian’s Efforts to Reshape the Past,” where Yale historian David W. Blight appeared as the minority’s witness.
Crockett asked Blight for his view on why, in her telling, many viewers seemed to support Spain over Argentina in the tournament’s final.
“And it seemed like the vast majority of the world was rooting for Argentina … or, actually, against Argentina, right?” Crockett said, before asking for an explanation.
Blight responded that Spain “had the best team,” and Crockett then suggested there was also “a racist history that exists as it relates to Argentina.”
Earlier in the hearing, Crockett criticized Republicans’ approach to the session, saying, “Welcome to the Republicans’ white pride rally disguised as a congressional hearing.” She also referenced Biden-era statements and assessments describing racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists—particularly those driven by white supremacist ideology—as a leading domestic violent-extremism threat, and accused Republicans of seeking to restrict books and targeting museums.
