What the US soul means for the economy, and football

A low point in Swiss-US relations? Keystone-SDA

Welcome to our press review of events in the United States. Every Wednesday we look at how the Swiss media have reported and reacted to three major stories in the US – in politics, finance and science.

As the United States turns 250-years-old, the Swiss media is debating what the country stands for and what we should make of its global power.

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What is the American Dream? Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

Swiss journalists been pondering the essence of the ‘American Dream’ as the United States celebrated its 250^th birthday on July 4.

Writing in the Tages Anzeiger, political scientist Claudia Franziska Brühwiler argues that pursuing happiness in the casino was not the intention of the Founding Fathers.

“When the material dream becomes unattainable, when existence descends into existential angst, a return to fundamental values ​​is indispensable. Such a vision is precisely what Americans lack right now,” she writes.

“Few consider happiness found in the community or in serving it. What’s missing is the appreciation of all these small and large acts of service as part of one’s own self-improvement, the pursuit of happiness.”

Le Temps journalist Boris Busslinger also feels that the US has drifted from its original purpose as it celebrates “a quarter of a millennium under the rule of a president with little regard for his country’s history or institutions”.

The US is a land of contradictions that has “worked for the common good as much as it has provoked hostility and devastation,” he added. “Capable of both the best and the worst, this great nation of immigrants can be a formidable dream machine as well as a terrible calamity.”

Trump’s influence has limitations with a “population has no intention of relinquishing its rights, much to the president’s chagrin.”

• The new American DreamExternal link – Tages Anzeiger (German, paywall)
• An analysis of the US psycheExternal link – Le Temps (French)

Sam Altman has an offer for Trump Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

The US has always prided itself on having an open economy that is relatively free from direct government interference. But the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) companies appears to have forced a re-think.

AI is sometimes framed as a threat to jobs, society and national security. The Trump administration is taking the threat seriously and has restricted foreign access to the most powerful AI models.

In an apparent attempt to win favour with the White House, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has reportedly offered the US government a 5% stake in the company. This would channel future profits into the state coffers.

The concept has alarmed the Neue Zürcher Zeitung, which considers the partial state ownership of leading tech companies as heavy-handed and distasteful.

“When the state has a stake in companies, there’s always the risk that it will favor ‘its’ companies,” the newspaper stated. “It’s no longer a referee, but a player. This dual role of owner and regulator is detrimental to competition.”

The administration should instead concentrate on clear regulations to control the impact of AI on society, allow the strongest companies to thrive in a competitive environment and rake in the resulting corporate tax proceeds, the NZZ argues.

“The US government should resist Altman’s offer. So far, the US has fared quite well without state capitalism,” the newspaper said.

The NZZ argues against direct state control of tech companiesExternal link – (German, paywall)

Foul play suspected around Folarin Balogun Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

Who needs Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology in football when you have a telephone? One call between US president Donald Trump and the Swiss president of FIFA, Gianni Infantino, apparently overturned a decision to ban US red-carded striker Folarin Balogun from a crunch World Cup match against Belgium.

The disciplinary u-turn has sparked global condemnation. “The game thrives on the illusion that decisions about fouls and offsides are made in the stadiums. Or by the video assistant referees. But certainly not in the White House,” commented Neue Zürcher Zeitung journalist Sebastian Bräuer.

Le Matin reporter Robin Carrel says the controversy has shattered the illusion of football bringing nations together. “FIFA came along and reinvented the wheel again, this time to smash everything in a crude and grotesque way.”

Bräuer scents hypocrisy, pointing out that FIFA recently suspended the football associations of Nepal and Congo-Brazzaville for political interference in football affairs.

Tages Anzeiger reporter Thomas Schifferle views the Trump-Infantino intervention as a terrible example of US-Swiss relations.

“Above all, this case demonstrates what has long been clear: Infantino is untenable as president of [FIFA] and should actually be removed from office,” he wrote.

• The day football was ruinedExternal link – Le Matin Dimanche (French)
• Balogun decision smacks of hypocrisyExternal link – NZZ (German, paywall)
• Time for Infantino to step down at FIFAExternal link – Tages Anzeiger (German, paywall)

The next edition of ‘Swiss views of US news’ will be published on Wednesday, July 15. See you then!

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