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President Donald Trump suggested he will work to have 2026 FIFA World Cup games pulled out of Boston if the city’s mayor, Michelle Wu, does not curb crime that recently included a violent street takeover targeting police.
Trump made the suggestion while taking questions from the media during Tuesday’s meeting with Argentinian President Javier Milei at the White House on Tuesday, threatening to call FIFA President Gianni Infantino to have the games moved to cities that do cooperate, citing safety concerns.
“We can take them away. I love the people of Boston. And I know the games are sold out, but the mayor is not good. There are worse than her. At least she’s intelligent, you know, some are extremely low IQ. Those bother me more. She’s intelligent, but she’s radical left,” Trump said.
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“The answer is yes, if somebody’s doing a bad job, and if I feel there’s unsafe conditions, I would call Gianni, the head of FIFA, who’s phenomenal, and I would say ‘let’s move it to another location,’ and he would do that. He wouldn’t love to do it, but he’d do it, very easily he’d do it. And this is the right time to do it.”
Trump’s comments come after a group of people took over one of the city’s streets in a violent incident this week. The president of a union that represents Boston police officers said that people who took part in a recent street takeover in the city were “hell-bent” on attacking law enforcement officials.
According to the Boston Police Department, over 100 people were involved in the takeover that involved street racing just after 2 a.m. on Oct. 5. Officers found people trying to attack police cruisers with fireworks, cones, poles and other items.
One police cruiser was destroyed by flames and needed to be towed away from the area, officials said.
Boston is currently set to host seven matches when the World Cup comes to North America next summer. The slate includes five group-stage games, one Round of 32 fixture and the first quarterfinal on July 9.
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Mayor Michelle Wu speaks during a news conference in Boston. (Stuart Cahill/Boston Herald via Getty Images)
Fox News Digital has reached out to Wu’s office for further comment.
Trump added that he would also consider pulling the 2028 Summer Olympics out of Los Angeles for similar reasons.
“I could say the same thing for the Olympics,” he said. “If I thought LA was not going to be prepared properly, I’d move it to another location.”
Wu has accused the Trump administration of being a party that “doesn’t follow the law.”
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President Donald Trump holds the World Cup Trophy in the Oval Office; Boston Mayor Michelle Wu. (Getty Images)
“At a time when this federal administration is already causing so much fear and harm in our communities, these threats are serious and consequential,” Wu said in August.
The remarks came after the Trump administration warned it could sue or cut federal funds if cities refused to cooperate on immigration enforcement.
Fox News Digital’s Adam Sabes and FOX Business Network’s Edward Lawrence contributed to this report.
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