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Former President Trump has once again announced he would influence FIFA to relocate global soccer tournament matches from a designated city based on the local politics, with Boston becoming the most recent targeted location to face such threats from the White House. Moreover, Trump suggested he would contemplate parallel steps against Los Angeles for the 2028 Olympics due to potential security concerns.

Jurisdictional Limits and Informal Leverage

Although Trump holds no formal power to personally cancel either tournament, he can apply pressure the international organizations overseeing each event to move host cities.

Setting for Statements

The comments were made during a media briefing with Javier Milei, who was present in the White House following the announcement of a multibillion-dollar rescue package for the South American nation. Near the close of the gathering, a media member questioned Trump about a recent unauthorized gathering in downtown Boston where police officers were targeted and a police vehicle was burned. The journalist also questioned if such events could cause the revocation of tournament responsibilities for the 48-team World Cup.

“I would take them away,” he stated about the World Cup games, scheduled to be held at Gillette Stadium. “The city's leader is poor … she’s extremist, and they’re occupying areas of Boston. It's a significant claim, don't you think?”

Public Gatherings and Political Context

Street takeovers, a digitally organized occurrence where groups of people congregate on public avenues during nighttime to conduct vehicular acrobatics, have been a repeated nuisance in US urban areas since the coronavirus closures. Recent such gatherings have become aggressive in the region, notably in Boston. Nevertheless, these occurrences are typically not considered associated with any particular political ideology.

“In cases where a mayor is failing, and I feel there’s dangerous circumstances, I'd call the FIFA head, who is phenomenal, and say we should relocate it to an alternate venue,” the former president said during the event. “And he would do that. He wouldn’t love the action, but he would comply. Readily, he’d do it.”

Political Connections

FIFA President has publicly acknowledged his attempts to be visibly associated with Trump ahead of the 2026 event, scheduled to be staged in numerous American venues across the America along with several in the northern neighbor and multiple in the southern neighbor. The head has participated at multiple presidential events, had Trump deliver the club tournament trophy after the concluding game, and has even postponed his the group's assembly to travel with Trump on a journey to the Middle East previously.

Earlier Warnings

Despite this, Trump from threatening the cancellation of soccer games from other US host cities. On September 25, Seattle and San Francisco faced comparable statements, with Trump stating both cities were “led by far-left extremists who lack understanding what they are doing,” while questioning the security conditions of both areas and suggesting that matches could be removed.

Organizational Statement

The organization's deputy Montagliani rejected Trump’s assertions when he commented days later at a event in London.

“It’s FIFA’s tournament, our responsibility, we decide such choices,” Montagliani said. “Respectfully to national heads, football is transcends them and soccer will outlast their administration and their policies. That’s the beauty of this sport, that it is more significant than a single person and bigger than any country.”

2028 Comments

Similarly, Trump’s reply to a question about the Massachusetts city veered into a similar threat regarding the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

“If I thought LA was not sufficiently organized, I'd relocate it to a different city if necessary,” Trump stated. “Regarding that event I’d probably have to obtain a different kind of consent, but we would take that action.”

Official consent Trump alluded to would need to come through the Olympic governing body. The leader, the newly elected president, was selected to her role in March and has so far not meet publicly with the former president, although she indicated that she would like a discussion with the US figure at eventually.

Further Comments

The former president also criticized California governor Newsom’s handling of the LA wildfires, stating that a comparable scenario could result in the relocation of the Games.

“In case the governor doesn’t play ball, we are going to have to be very tough,” the former president said.

The warning was just as direct for the Massachusetts city.

“They should improve their situation,” he said. “That is I can say.”