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Donald Trump has once again announced he would urge FIFA to pull 2026 World Cup games from a designated city based on that city's political climate, with the Boston region emerging as the latest such city to receive such warnings from the US president. Additionally, Trump indicated he would evaluate parallel steps against LA for the upcoming Olympic Games due to possible public safety risks.

Jurisdictional Limits and Potential Influence

While Trump holds no direct legal authority to personally cancel either tournament, he is able to exert influence the international organizations in charge of each tournament to change locations.

Setting for Statements

These remarks were made during a press event with Javier Milei, who was visiting the presidential residence following the announcement of a $20 billion bailout for the Argentine country. At the end of the event, a reporter inquired Trump about a recent “street takeover” in Boston where law enforcement were targeted and a police vehicle was ignited. The correspondent also wondered if the situation could result in the removal of tournament responsibilities for the 48-team World Cup.

“We could take them away,” the former president remarked concerning the World Cup games, scheduled to be staged at Gillette Stadium. “Their mayor is ineffective … they're extremist, and activists are occupying areas of the city. It's a pretty big assertion, isn't it?”

Street Takeovers and Ideological Perceptions

Street takeovers, a digitally organized trend where large crowds congregate on city streets after dark to conduct vehicular acrobatics, have become a repeated nuisance in American cities since the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions. Current incidents have become aggressive in the state, notably in downtown. However, these gatherings are generally not considered tied to any distinct ideological group.

“In cases where a city is doing a bad job, and I feel there’s security risks, I would call the organization's president, who is excellent, and say let’s move it to an alternate venue,” Trump stated on Tuesday. “He'd do that. He wouldn’t love to do it, but he'd agree. Very easily, he’d do it.”

Organizational Alignment

The organization's head has publicly acknowledged his strategies to be visibly associated with the former president before the upcoming World Cup, scheduled to be hosted in 11 cities across the US along with several in Canada and a few in the southern neighbor. The FIFA president has appeared at various White House functions, had Trump deliver the Club World Cup cup after that tournament’s final, and has even delayed his FIFA's internal meeting to travel with Trump on a journey to the Middle East earlier in 2025.

Past Statements

This has not stopped, Trump from suggesting the cancellation of World Cup matches from different locations. In late September, Seattle and the Bay Area metropolis faced comparable comments, with Trump claiming both cities were “run by ideological activists who don’t know what they're managing,” while challenging the public safety of both cities and claiming that events could be removed.

FIFA Response

FIFA vice-president Montagliani dismissed Trump’s claims when he responded subsequently at a conference in England.

“It is the organization's event, our responsibility, we decide these matters,” he declared. “With all due respect to current world leaders, the sport is bigger than political figures and football will survive their tenure and their government. That’s the essence of our game, that it is more significant than any individual and bigger than individual states.”

Olympics Threat

During the event, Trump’s reply to a inquiry about Boston extended to a similar threat regarding the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

“When I believed LA was not going to be sufficiently organized, I would shift it to a different city as needed,” he said. “For the Olympics I may have to secure a alternative permission, but we would proceed.”

Official consent Trump alluded to would have to come through the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The leader, she, was chosen to her post in spring and has yet to meet publicly with Trump, but she indicated that she would like a meeting with him at some point.

Other Remarks

He also condemned the state's leader Newsom’s management of recent California fires, stating that a comparable scenario could cause the removal of the event.

“When the governor doesn’t play ball, we are going to have to be firm,” Trump commented.

The warning was similarly unambiguous for the Massachusetts city.

“They better address these issues,” he remarked. “That’s all my message.”