President Trump briefly crowed about the ticket sales for the 2026 FIFA World Cup during a brief aside at the signing ceremony for the Washington Accords.

"The head of FIFA is here, and I can report to you that we have sold more tickets than any country anywhere in the world at this stage of the game," Trump quipped.

Shortly afterwards, he described the Kennedy Center as the Trump-Kennedy Center.

"You have a big event on Friday at the Trump Kennedy Center, excuse me, at the Kennedy Center," Trump said.

The signing ceremony took place in a building that the State Department renamed the "Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace" on Wednesday.

President Trump formally signed the Washington Accords with Democratic Republic of Congo President Felix Tshisekedi and Rwanda President Paul Kagame.

The deal formally ends the years of conflicts between the two countries and cements a breakthrough that Trump's team reached over the summer.

President Trump touted the bilateral agreements he is signing with the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda that will boost US access to critical minerals.

"Today, the United States is also signing our own bilateral agreements with the Congo and Rwanda that will unlock new opportunities for the United States to access critical minerals and provide economic benefits for everybody," Trump explained in his speech.

Democratic Republic of Congo President Felix Tshisekedi hailed the Washington Accord as a significant turning point.

"The Washington agreements are not yet another document. These represent a turning point. They bring together under a coherent architecture, a declaration of principles, of a peace agreement and also the regional economic integration framework to provide to the peoples," he said.

"...We will remain watchful, vigilant, but not pessimistic. We'll be clear-eyed, but resolutely optimistic."

Trump administration investigators nabbed DC pipe bomb suspect Brian Cole based on no public tips — just old-fashioned police work, FBI Director Kash Patel exclusively told The Post on Thursday.

Despite offering a $500,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the person who laid pipe bombs at political offices in Washington, DC, the Biden administration was unable to catch a suspect during the former president’s only term in office.

But Trump’s FBI was able to crack the nearly five-year-old case without new tips.

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Rwanda President Paul Kagame showered President Trump with praise for helping to mediate the multidecade conflict between his country and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

"No one was asking President Trump to take up this task. Our region is far from the headlines, but when the President saw the opportunity to contribute to peace, he immediately took it," Kagame said.

"This conflict has lasted for 30 years. We have seen countless mediation efforts, but none has succeeded in resolving the underlying issues," he added. "President Trump introduced a new and effective dynamism that created the space for breakthroughs."

President Trump christened his peace plan between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo as the "Washington Accords" during a ceremony with the heads of the two countries.

"We started a great process. The compact we're signing today, which will be known as the Washington Accords — everybody sort of likes that name — formalizes the terms agreed to in June," Trump explained.

The president noted the deal features "a permanent ceasefire, the disarmament of non-state forces, provisions for refugees to return to their homes, and justice and accountability for those who have committed illegal atrocities."

The ceremony took place at the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington, D.C., which added Trump's name to the building's facade.

US Rep. Ilhan Omar’s close ties to the $1 billion welfare scam in her Minnesota congressional district are being uncovered.

Omar (D-Minn.) held parties at one of the key restaurants named in the fraud, knew one of its now-convicted owners, and one of her own staffers has also been convicted — both for stealing millions. 

Omar even introduced the bill that led to $250 million in fraud. Yet she claims to have been completely unaware of it. 

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A suspect was arrested Thursday morning in connection with the planting of pipe bombs outside the Democratic and Republican National Committees on the eve of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, The Post has confirmed.

Brian Cole Jr., 30, of Woodbridge, Va., was set to be arraigned in DC federal court later Thursday, according to a law enforcement source.

It was not immediately clear what charges Cole would face.

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President Trump has ordered all flags at the White House campus, government buildings and other public installations to half-staff for the remainder of the day to honor West Virginia Army National Guard Spec. Sarah Beckstrom.

Beckstrom, 20, was shot and killed last week not far from the executive mansion in a targeted attack.

Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national who came to the US following the botched 2021 withdrawal, has been charged in connection with the shooting -- which left another West Virginia Guardsman, 24-year-old SSgt. Andrew Wolfe, in critical condition.

President Trump and first lady Melania will participate in the lighting of the National Christmas Tree in Washington, DC.

The ceremony will begin around 6:00 p.m. EST. The Beach Boys and Alana Springsteen are slated to perform near the ceremony as well.

The tree is from the George Washington and Jefferson National Forest in Virginia.

The ceremony comes a day after the Rockefeller Christmas tree was lit.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) kicked off Thursday by swearing in Matt Van Epps, who was elected Tuesday in a special election for Tennessee's 7th Congressional District.

Van Epps prevailed in a much tighter-than-expected race for Republicans in a district President Trump won by 22 points last year. With campaign help from President Trump and Johnson, Van Epps defeated Democratic state Rep. Aftyn Behn by about 9 percentage points with about 99% of votes counted in the Nashville area district.

Now Republicans have a 220 to 213 majority in the House.