Pulisic addressed his decision to take the summer off, as well as the criticism from Landon Donovan, on CBS Sports' Call It What You Want

Pulisic also responded to the critics, some of whom are former national team stars, who said he needs to show a stronger commitment to the USMNT. He believes that argument is "way out of line":

And while the USMNT was thoroughly embarrassed in its friendly against Switzerland, much of the discussion focused on the player who wasn't there: Christian Pulisic. Ever since the AC Milan star elected to skip the Gold Cup — the USMNT's only competitive tournament before the 2026 World Cup — the backlash had been impossible to ignore.