President Donald Trump walks across the South Lawn of the White House, early Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2025, in Washington, after returning from a trip to Israel and Egypt. (AP Photo) US President Donald Trump has warned that Boston could lose its 2026 World Cup matches and Los Angeles could risk hosting the 2028 Olympics if local officials fail to address crime and safety concerns.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Trump criticised Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and California Governor Gavin Newsom, saying their policies were harming public safety.
“Boston better clean up their act. That’s all I can say,” Trump said.
“We could take them away”
Boston is scheduled to host seven World Cup matches in 2026. Trump said his administration could recommend moving the games if he believed the city was unsafe.
“If somebody is doing a bad job, and if I feel there are unsafe conditions, I would call Gianni the head of FIFA – and I would say, ‘Let’s move it to another location,’ and he would do that,” Trump said, referring to FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
“He wouldn’t love to do it, but he’d do it very easily,” he added.
Trump said the matches in Boston were already sold out but warned he would not hesitate to act if he felt security was inadequate.
“We would do that to Gavin Newsom”
He also suggested that the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028 could be moved under similar circumstances.
“If I thought LA was not going to be prepared properly, I would move it to another location,” Trump said. “If I had to on that one, I’d probably have to get a different kind of permission. But we would do that to Gavin Newsom. He’s got to get his act together.”
Trump added that his administration had already deployed National Guard troops to Washington, DC, and Memphis, and was seeking to expand the federal security presence in Chicago and Portland, Oregon efforts that have drawn legal challenges.
According to a report by The Associated Press, Trump did not provide specific details about crime levels in Boston or Los Angeles but linked his comments to what he described as failures by Democrat-led local governments.
