Donald Trump has again said he will pressure FIFA to remove 2026 World Cup games from the host city based on that city's policies, with Boston becoming the third such city to be threatened by a US president. Trump also said he would consider similar action against Los Angeles at the 2028 Olympics due to potential security concerns.
Trump has no legal authority to take any action directly, but he could pressure each pageant's governing body to change host cities.
His comments came at a news conference with Argentine President Javier Miley, who visited the White House after announcing a $20 billion bailout for the South American country. Toward the end of the event, a reporter asked Trump: about the recent “street takeover” in Boston that there was an attack on police officers and the burning of a police car, and whether concerns raised by the incident could lead to the cancellation of duties for an expanded 48-team football tournament next year. The reporter also asked whether Trump would work with Michelle Wu, the mayor of Boston, to resolve the issue.
“We could take them,” Trump said of World Cup The games are scheduled to be played at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts, about 22 miles southwest of Boston. “Their mayor is bad…she's a radical leftist and they're taking over part of Boston. That's a pretty big statement, isn't it?”
Street carjacking, a social media-driven phenomenon in which large crowds of people gather late at night on city streets to perform stunts on cars, has repeatedly become a nuisance in American cities since the Covid-19 pandemic shut down homes. Recent such meetings became cruel in Massachusetts, including Boston. However, as a rule, the meetings are not associated with any specific political ideology.
“If someone is doing a bad job and I feel the conditions are unsafe, I will call Gianni. [Infantino]”, the head of FIFA, who is phenomenal, and said, let's take it somewhere else,” Trump said Tuesday. “And he will do it. He wouldn't like to do it, but he would do it. He would do it very easily.
Infantino has made no secret of his efforts to publicly support Trump ahead of next year's tournament, which is scheduled to take place in 11 U.S. cities, as well as two cities in Canada and three in Mexico. The FIFA President appeared on several Oval Office eventsif Trump had delivered the Club World Cup trophy to Chelsea after the final of this tournament (where the US president overstayed his welcome while lifting the trophy), and even postponed the congress of his organization to accompany Trump on a trip to the Middle East in early 2025.
Most recently, Infantino appeared in Egypt with Trump for summit in Gaza. The FIFA Club World Cup trophy and the men's World Cup, gifts from Infantino, found a seemingly permanent place among Trump's Oval Office decor.
That hasn't stopped Trump from threatening to move World Cup games from other US host cities. On September 25, Seattle and San Francisco found themselves in his crosshairs, with Trump declaring that both cities were “run by radical left-wing crazies who don't know what they're doing,” while criticizing the level of security in both regions and saying the games could be removed.
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FIFA Vice President Victor Monatgliani rejected Trump's claims when he replied a few days later at a conference in London.
“This is a FIFA tournament, FIFA has jurisdiction, FIFA makes the decisions,” Montagliani said. “With all due respect to the current world leaders, football is bigger than them, and football will outlive their regime, their government and their slogans. That is the beauty of our game: it is bigger than any person and bigger than any country.”
On Tuesday, Trump's response to a question about Boston turned into a similar threat to the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
“If I thought Los Angeles would not be prepared properly, I would move it to another location if necessary,” he said. “In this case, I would probably have to get a different permit, but we would do it.”
The permission Trump is talking about will have to be obtained through the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Their president, Kirsty Coventry, was elected to office in March and has yet to speak publicly with Trump, although she has said that she would like to sit with him at some point.
Trump also criticized California Gov. Gavin Newsom's handling of wildfires in Los Angeles this year, saying such a situation could lead to the cancellation of the Games.
“If he doesn't play ball, we're going to have to be very tough,” Trump said.
His message was just as clear for Boston.
“Boston better clean up its act,” he said. “That's all I can say.”
