President Trump on Tuesday threatened to press FIFA and the U.S. Olympic Committee to change locations for the World Cup and 2028 Summer Olympics because of the policies of Democratic elected officials, calling out Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
At a White House event with Argentine President Javier Milei, Mr. Trump said he might move the events because of Democratic opposition to his anti-crime measures.
The Boston area is set to host seven World Cup soccer games next year, and Los Angeles is the host of the 2028 Summer Olympics.
“If somebody is doing a bad job and I feel there are unsafe conditions, I would call [Gianni Infantino], the head of FIFA,” Mr. Trump said. “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.”
Mr. Trump called Ms. Wu “not good” and said her policies were hurting the city.
“Boston better clean up its act,” he warned. “That’s all I can say.”
Ms. Wu’s city, though, is not the one that actually will host the games, which are scheduled for Gillette Stadium in suburban Foxborough, home of the NFL’s New England Patriots.
In addition, the World Cup game sites are not decided by the U.S. government. The 11 U.S. cities — plus three in Mexico and two in Canada — have contracts directly with FIFA.
“It’s FIFA’s tournament, FIFA’s jurisdiction, FIFA makes those decisions,” the soccer body’s vice president Victor Montagliani said earlier this month at a sports business conference in London.
But Mr. Trump also said he could “say the same thing” about the Olympics.
“If I thought L.A. was not going to be prepared properly, I would move it to another location. If I had to on that one, I’d probably have to get a different kind of permission,” Mr. Trump said. “But we would do that to Gavin Newsom. He’s got to get his act together. If he doesn’t play ball, we’re going to have to be very tough with him.”
• This article was based in part on wire service reports.
