I’ll be perfectly honest. My interest in soccer extends about as far “Ted Lasso” and the rather nice physiques of the players.

Yet, as World Cup fans from around the globe have descended on America, I have found myself extremely interested in their perceptions of the country.

Europeans especially seem bewitched by the sheer bigness of it all, from the spacious Western grandeur to supersized gas stations like Buc-ee’s. 

What’s not so cute is the shock some of my fellow Americans seem to be feeling at these expressions of true awe and joy from our visitors. The pushback, largely from coastal liberal elites, revolves around this theme: Since Donald Trump is president, the rest of the world must feel the same shame and horror that we do.

America is so much bigger than one man, and it’s refreshing to see these candid takes at a time when so many U.S. citizens (Democrats, anyway) are down on their........

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