President Donald Trump has threatened to pull out 2026 FIFA World Cup matches from Boston, as he claimed that parts of the city had been "taken over" by unrest.
The US president has no legal authority to directly take such action; however, he can pressurise the governing body, FIFA, to move host cities.
His comments came at a press event with Argentinian president Javier Milei, who was visiting the White House after the announcement of a $20 billion bailout for the South American nation.
During the event, a reporter asked Trump about recent disruption in Boston and if he will work with Michelle Wu, the mayor of the city, to address the issue ahead of the World Cup.
"We could take them away," Trump said of the World Cup games, which are due to be held at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, about 22 miles southwest of Boston.
"Their mayor is not good … she's radical left, and they're taking over parts of Boston. That's a pretty big statement, right?" he noted.
Street takeovers, a social media-driven phenomenon that sees large crowds of people gather on city streets late at night to perform stunts in cars, have been a repeated nuisance in American cities since the Covid-19 pandemic shutdowns.
Recently, such gatherings have turned violent in Massachusetts, including in Boston. However, these "takeovers" are generally not linked to any particular political ideology.
"If someone is doing a bad job, and I feel there's unsafe conditions, I would call Gianni [Infantino], the head of FIFA, who is phenomenal, and say let's move it to another location," Trump shared his potential plans on Tuesday, October 14.
Infantino has been making headlines for his close ties with Trump ahead of next year's tournament, due to be hosted in 11 cities across the US along with two in Canada and three in Mexico.
Besides that, President Donald Trump has also threatened to take action against LA for the 2028 Olympics, citing potential safety issues.
