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Donald Trump has once again announced he would influence FIFA to pull upcoming World Cup matches from a designated city based on municipal governance, with Massachusetts emerging as the most recent such city to encounter such threats from the US president. Moreover, Trump indicated he would consider parallel steps against Los Angeles for the 2028 Summer Games due to potential security concerns.

Official Power and Informal Leverage

While Trump does not have official jurisdiction to directly relocate either event, he may apply pressure the organizing committees managing each event to move venues.

Setting for Statements

The comments were made during a press event with Argentinian president Milei, who was present in the executive mansion following the announcement of a massive rescue package for the Argentine economy. Near the end of the event, a journalist asked Trump about a current unauthorized gathering in Boston where authorities were attacked and a cruiser was ignited. The reporter also asked if the situation could cause the revocation of hosting duties for the larger soccer tournament.

“It's possible to take them away,” Trump said regarding the soccer matches, set to be held at the Massachusetts arena. “She is not good … she’s radical left, and they’re taking over areas of the city. That’s a major statement, don't you think?”

Urban Disturbances and Ideological Perceptions

Street takeovers, a online-fueled occurrence where groups of people gather on city streets during nighttime to conduct vehicular acrobatics, have emerged as a frequent problem in metropolitan centers since the lockdown shutdowns. Recent such gatherings have turned violent in the state, including the city. However, these gatherings are usually not seen as tied to any specific partisan agenda.

“In cases where someone is failing, and I feel there’s security risks, I will call Gianni [Infantino], who is excellent, and tell him we should relocate it to a different city,” the former president commented during the event. “He will do that. He wouldn’t love to do it, but he would comply. Readily, he'd comply.”

Organizational Alignment

The organization's head has publicly acknowledged his strategies to be publicly aligned with the US leader ahead of the 2026 event, set to be staged in multiple US locations across the US along with two in Canada and three in the southern neighbor. The head has been present at various presidential gatherings, arranged for Trump present the FIFA club cup after the concluding game, and has even rescheduled his own organization’s congress to travel with Trump on a journey to the Arab region earlier in 2025.

Previous Threats

This has not stopped, Trump from suggesting the removal of World Cup games from other US host cities. Recently, Seattle and the Bay Area metropolis were similar comments, with Trump claiming both cities were “governed by radical left lunatics 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 rejected Trump’s claims when he responded subsequently at a conference in England.

“This is the organization's event, FIFA’s jurisdiction, FIFA makes these matters,” the vice-president stated. “Respectfully to sitting presidents, soccer is more important than political figures and soccer will endure their administration and their government. That is the beauty of this sport, that it is more significant than a single person and beyond a nation.”

2028 Comments

During the event, Trump’s answer to a question about Boston veered into a parallel statement regarding the LA Olympic event.

“When I thought LA was not going to be sufficiently organized, I would move it to another location if necessary,” he remarked. “On that one I may have to secure a different kind of consent, but we will take that action.”

Official consent Trump refers to would have to come from the Olympic governing body. The president, Kirsty Coventry, was selected to her role in spring and has so far not meet publicly with him, though she indicated that she desires a sit-down with the US figure at a future time.

Other Remarks

He also condemned California governor Newsom’s response of recent LA wildfires, stating that a comparable scenario could lead to the relocation of the Olympics.

“In case Newsom is uncooperative, we’re gonna have to be strict,” Trump commented.

His message was equally unambiguous for Boston.

“Boston better clean up their act,” he said. “That is I will say.”