Sports

Trump Threatens To Relocate Olympics From LA

Los Angeles is preparing to host the 2028 Olympics. But President Trump says he could pull the plug.

President Donald Trump at the Club World Cup final soccer match in New Jersey in July.
President Donald Trump at the Club World Cup final soccer match in New Jersey in July. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

President Donald Trump this week said he would work to move the 2028 Olympics out of Los Angeles if he believed the region was unprepared for the games, according to reports.

“If I thought LA was not going to be prepared properly, I would move it to another location,” Trump said, according to Bloomberg. “Gavin Newsom, he’s got to get his act together.”

Trump made the remarks during a lunch with Argentine President Javier Milei on Tuesday, where he also criticized Gov. Gavin Newsom's handling of the destructive wildfires in Los Angeles County earlier this year.

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Trump has sparred with both Newsom — a frequent political adversary — and LA Mayor Karen Bass. Their conflicts grew particularly heated over the summer amid federal immigration enforcement raids and subsequent protests in Los Angeles County.

At the lunch, Trump also suggested he would try to pull the plug on Boston's hosting of the 2025 World Cup.

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Like Los Angeles, Boston is led by a Democratic mayor. Mayor Michelle Wu was among those summoned to a congressional hearing earlier this year focused on the city's "sanctuary city" policies.

“I love the people of Boston. I know the games are sold out, but your mayor is not good,” Trump said. “I think she is hurting Boston. The answer is yes: If somebody is doing a bad job, and if I feel there’s unsafe conditions, I would call Gianni, the head of FIFA, who’s phenomenal, and I would say, let’s move it to another location.”

Boston is one of 11 U.S. cities set to host the 2026 soccer games. FIFA's plan also includes matches at SoFi Stadium and San Francisco's Levi's Stadium.

Trump has previously said he could declare cities "not safe" for the World Cup, but PBS reported the tournament host sites aren't up to the president.

Trump was responding to a question about recent "street takeovers" in Boston, in which crowds or groups of vehicles have blocked roads. Both Wu and Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healy, a Democrat, have denounced the takeovers, Bloomberg reported.

Trump said "I'd probably have to get a different kind of a permission" to relocate the Olympics from LA.

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