Trump threatens to strip LA of Olympics and Boston of 2026 World Cup matches amid unrest
The president claimed Boston had been "taken over" and said he would move the Olympics if LA wasn't ready
Donald Trump has threatened to strip Boston of its 2026 World Cup fixtures and take the Olympics away from Los Angeles amid scenes of "unrest."
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The US President made the claims after describing Boston's mayor Michelle Wu as "intelligent" but "radical left."
He said the city had been taken over by unreset and claimed FIFA would move the matches for next summer's tournament if asked.
Referring to the games, he said: "We could take them away.
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"I love the people of Boston and I know the games are sold out. But your mayor is not good."
He suggested "they’re taking over parts of Boston" without adding detail but continued: "We could get them back in about two seconds."
Trump made the comments during a meeting with Argentina President Javier Milei.
It wasn't clear what he was referring to by parts of Boston having been seized but earlier this month there were multiple arrests in connection with a pro-Palestinian protest that turned violent.
"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 into 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.
"If I thought LA 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 a permission, but we would do that."
The Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, which is about 30 miles from Boston, is set to stage matches as the US co-hosts of the 2026 World Cup alongside Mexico and Canada.
Wu's office didn't respond directly to Trump but said: "Boston is honoured and excited to host World Cup matches, and we look forward to welcoming fans from around the world to our beautiful city, the cradle of liberty and city of champions."
The 11 US host cities, plus three in Mexico and two in Canada, are contracted with FIFA which would face significant logistical and legal issues to make changes in the eight months before the June 11 kick-off, the Telegraph reports.
If he wanted to move the Olympic Games, Trump would have to meet with Kirsty Coventry - the newly elected president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).