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Ex-president Trump has once again announced he would urge FIFA to pull global soccer tournament matches from a designated city based on the local governance, with Massachusetts now being the most recent urban area to face such threats from the American leader. Moreover, Trump suggested he would contemplate comparable measures against Southern California for the upcoming Olympic Games due to potential safety issues.

Legal Authority and Potential Influence

Although Trump lacks official jurisdiction to unilaterally remove either event, he is able to exert influence the international organizations managing each tournament to move locations.

Background of Comments

His remarks were made during a press event with Argentinian president Milei, who was at the White House following the announcement of a multibillion-dollar financial assistance for the Latin American nation. At the conclusion of the event, a reporter inquired Trump about a recent unauthorized gathering in Boston where authorities were targeted and a police vehicle was burned. The reporter also questioned if such events could lead to the removal of tournament responsibilities for the expanded World Cup.

“I would take them away,” Trump remarked regarding the soccer games, planned to be held at Gillette Stadium. “The city's leader is ineffective … they're extremist, and they’re occupying parts of Boston. It's a pretty big claim, isn't it?”

Public Gatherings and Political Context

Public disruptions, a social media-driven phenomenon where participants congregate on urban roads after dark to engage in dangerous driving, have been a ongoing problem in metropolitan centers since the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions. Current such gatherings have escalated into violence in the state, notably in downtown. Nevertheless, these occurrences are usually not seen as tied to any particular partisan agenda.

“When a city is performing poorly, and I perceive there’s unsafe conditions, I will call the FIFA head, who is phenomenal, and tell him let’s move it to an alternate venue,” the former president said on Tuesday. “He'd do that. He might not prefer to do it, but he’d do it. Readily, he’d do it.”

Organizational Alignment

The organization's head has publicly acknowledged his strategies to be publicly aligned with the former president prior to the upcoming World Cup, scheduled to be hosted in 11 cities across the US along with several in the northern neighbor and multiple in Mexico. The head has participated at various Oval Office events, facilitated Trump hand over the club tournament trophy after the concluding game, and has even postponed his own organization’s congress to travel with Trump on a journey to the Middle East earlier in 2025.

Past Statements

This has not stopped, Trump from threatening the removal of soccer games from different locations. Recently, the Washington city and San Francisco were comparable statements, with Trump stating both locations were “led by radical left lunatics who lack understanding what they are doing,” while challenging the public safety of both cities and suggesting that games could be removed.

Official Rebuttal

FIFA vice-president Montagliani rebuffed Trump’s statements when he reacted afterward at a event in the UK capital.

“This is our competition, our responsibility, we decide such choices,” he declared. “Respectfully to current world leaders, the sport is bigger than political figures and soccer will survive their administration and their policies. That’s the essence of this sport, that it is bigger than any individual and beyond a nation.”

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On Tuesday, Trump’s reply to a inquiry about the Massachusetts city veered into a similar threat regarding the upcoming Summer Games.

“If I believed the city was not adequately ready, I will move it to an alternate venue if I had to,” he said. “On that one I’d probably have to get a different kind of approval, but we will proceed.”

Any approval Trump mentioned would must come through the IOC. Their head, the newly elected president, was chosen to her post in March and has not yet meet publicly with the former president, although she said that she desires a sit-down with Trump at a future time.

Other Remarks

Trump also questioned Gavin Newsom’s management of recent blazes, saying that a parallel incident could cause the removal of the event.

“When Newsom is uncooperative, we’re gonna have to be firm,” he said.

The warning was equally clear for Boston.

“They better clean up their act,” he said. “That is I can say.”