Trump warns of moving World Cup games from Boston though FIFA chooses sites

Boston will host seven 2026 World Cup matches, and Trump described Mayor Michelle Wu as "intelligent" but "radical left" when asked about her

President Donald Trump on Tuesday threatened to relocate World Cup matches set to be played next year in Boston, parts of which he had suggested had been "taken over" by recent unrest.

The city is set to host seven matches as the US co-hosts the 2026 World Cup with Mexico and Canada. Trump was asked about the city's mayor, Michelle Wu, a Democrat whom he called "intelligent" but "radical left".

"We could take them away," Trump said of the games. "I love the people of Boston and I know the games are sold out. But your mayor is not good."  He suggested "they are taking over parts of Boston" without offering details, but added "we could get them back in about two seconds".

 

Wu's office did not respond to a message seeking comment.

Trump's comments came during his meeting with Argentina's president and it was not immediately clear what he was referring to. Earlier this month, however, there were multiple arrests in connection with a pro-Palestinian protest that turned violent on the Boston Common in which four police officers were injured.

Trump has previously suggested he could declare cities "not safe" for the 104-game soccer tournament and alter a detailed hosting plan that FIFA confirmed in 2022. It includes NFL stadiums near New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

World Cup host sites are not up to Trump. The 11 US cities -- plus three in Mexico and two in Canada -- are contracted with FIFA, which would face significant logistical and legal issues to make changes in the eight months before the June 11 kickoff.

"It's FIFA's tournament, FIFA's jurisdiction, FIFA makes those decisions," the soccer body's vice president, Victor Montagliani, said on Wednesday at a sports business conference in London.

Trump nonetheless said, "If somebody is doing a bad job, and if I feel there are unsafe conditions, I would call Gianni -- the head of FIFA who is phenomenal -- and I would say, 'Let us move into another location' and they would do that."  The president meant FIFA head Gianni Infantino, a close ally. Trump said Infantino "would not love to do it, but he would do it very easily".

The Trump administration has already deployed National Guard troops to Washington and Memphis, and efforts to do so in Chicago and Portland, Oregon, have sparked legal fights.