Trump threatens to pull Olympics from LA and World Cup from Boston
President Donald Trump has threatened to move the 2028 Olympic Games away from LA, and has warned 2026 Fifa World Cup matches in Boston could be shifted out of state.
The remarks, made by the President in the White House, follow threats by the real estate tycoon to move World Cup matches away from San Francisco and Seattle due to “radical left lunatics” in power “who don’t know what they’re doing”.
Trump’s White House has a friendly relationship with Fifa president Gianni Infantino, who opened Stateside offices in the New York Trump Tower earlier this year.
The President has no authority to move the events – decisions revert to the International Olympic Committee and Fifa – but pressure from Trump counts for something.
Trump to take control?
“If I feel they are unsafe conditions,” Trump said. “I would call Gianni, the head of Fifa, who’s phenomenal, and I would say, let’s move it to another location.
“And he would do that. He wouldn’t love to do it, but he’d do it very easily.
“I could say the same thing for the Olympics, because we have events that are in different locations. It’s based in LA but if I thought LA was not going to be prepared properly, I would move it to another location if I had to.”
Trump’s Boston comments refer to mayor Michelle Wu, and reports of a “street takeover” in the city. Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, 20 miles from Boston, will host matches in the 2026 Fifa World Cup, which is being co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
“Their mayor is not good … she’s radical left, and they’re taking over parts of Boston,” the President added. “That’s a pretty big statement, right?”
The LA Games will take place in the summer of 2028, just weeks before the next US Presidential election.