IIt’s no secret that US President Donald Trump is looking for every way to personally assess and politically exploit two major sporting events that his country will soon host: the 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. The fact that each organization is dependent on its own organizing committee, and in the case of the Olympic Games, the “owner” of the event is the International Olympic Committee, does not matter to the former sports businessman.
Donald Trump has long used his presidential privilege to use national security and other arguments to pressure communities that refuse to comply with his orders on immigration and other issues. This is the argument used yesterday to point out that Boston could be stripped of its host city status. He also said similar action could be taken against Olympic host Los Angeles.
This is the most luxurious experience of the FIFA Club World Cup
“We can take them away,” Trump said at an event attended by Argentina’s President Milay. “Their mayor (Michelle Wu) is not good. She’s a radical leftist, and they’re taking over parts of Boston.” He acknowledged that the way to do that is to put pressure on FIFA, adding, “If someone’s doing a bad job and there’s a dangerous situation… If I felt there was a situation, I would call Gianni (Infantino), the FIFA president, and he would tell me to move the headquarters somewhere else. He wouldn’t want to do it, but he would do it.”
Trump also said other World Cup host cities, such as Seattle and San Francisco, are “run by far-left lunatics who don’t know what they’re doing.” According to Politico, officials in the threatened cities say they are not worried about the president’s threats, but FIFA notes that the decision to control safety standards rests with the host country’s government.
Trump also said, “If we don’t think Los Angeles is adequately prepared, we will move elsewhere if necessary.”
The city of Los Angeles is considering measures to counter illegal immigration raids conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the direction of the president. That’s why Los Angeles County is considering declaring a local state of emergency after seeing a significant increase in arrests in areas with large Latino and Asian populations. Counties can mobilize resources, set up temporary shelters, coordinate free legal aid, and assist affected families. The move is being interpreted as a direct message to the Trump administration, according to the Los Angeles Times.
