Trump warns World Cup matches will be moved from 'dangerous' cities
United States President Donald Trump said Friday that he will move 2026 World Cup matches from cities he believes are too unsafe to carry out hosting duties.
The United States will host 78 World Cup fixtures across 11 different venues in June and July. Canada and Mexico get 13 matches each.
"It will be safe for the World Cup," Trump promised reporters in the Oval Office, according to BBC Sport's Tom Mallows. "If I think it isn't safe, we'll move it into a different city."
Trump was asked specifically about Seattle and San Francisco, cities with Democratic mayors that have six World Cup games apiece (although the venue in the Bay Area is located in Santa Clara, California). The Republican leader said the cities are "run by radical left lunatics who don't know what they're doing," according to PA Media.
"If any city we think is going to be even a little bit dangerous for the World Cup, or for the Olympics, but for the World Cup in particular, because they're playing in so many cities, we won't allow it to go. We'll move it around a little bit," Trump said, per Mallows.
The 2028 Summer Olympics will be staged in Los Angeles.
It's unclear whether Trump has the authority to switch host cities for the World Cup, Mallows reports. Nevertheless, Trump has indicated that he will attempt to exert influence over the global event, including Thursday when his administration said it will "stop any effort" to ban Israel from potentially competing at the World Cup.
Trump also suggested in May that offering Russia the opportunity to play at the World Cup could be an "incentive" for the country to end its war with Ukraine. Russia is suspended by FIFA and UEFA, and its men's team last played an official match in November 2021.
Trump and FIFA president Gianni Infantino have appeared together on numerous occasions in the buildup to 2026 World Cup, including when the President controversially held the famous trophy at the Oval Office in August.
Infantino referred to the superstition that only the victorious team can handle the trophy when he noted that it's "for winners only." Infantino then added: "And, since you are a winner, of course you can as well."
In May, Infantino was more than two hours late when he arrived in Paraguay for FIFA's Congress, an annual meeting of over 200 nations to discuss soccer's most important issues. He was late after he attended meetings in Saudi Arabia and Qatar with Trump.
The draw for the World Cup is scheduled for Dec. 5 in Washington.