Will Trump Torch L.A.'s Olympics?

Yahoo

05-06-2025

Just how severely Donald Trump may impact, tarnish or otherwise undermine Los Angeles' 2028 Olympic Games remains an open question. But it's now fair to expect the city's road to gold and glory will be littered with political potholes.
His administration's hard-line immigration approach, extreme cost-cutting of federal services and adversarial international relations are at odds with the ethos of the mega-spectacle, which (no matter how much you buy it) bills itself as a beacon of kumbaya globalism.
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Trump himself has in recent months reportedly assured the local Olympic organizing committee, LA28, at a private Mar-a-Lago conclave that he'll be 'supportive in every way possible' because, after all, 'these are America's Olympics.' Still, experts are sounding alarm bells. They warn that the event — taking place at the end of Trump's second term — could be a historic embarrassment for the U.S. because of his policies, which have antagonized allies as well as adversaries around the world.
Jonathan Aronson, a USC professor specializing in international policy, sees a real possibility of diplomatic boycotts on the horizon: 'If he alienates other countries too much, what greater insult is there than not to come at all?'
Trump's hot-button tariffs likely won't affect the costs of the Los Angeles Games, which has pledged a 'no-build' strategy that relies heavily on existing infrastructure. But visa issues may plague the lead-up to the event — and not just for athletes but the vast Olympics ecosystem, from coaches and families to sponsors and vendors to, of course, attendees. In February, the U.S. Travel Association raised concern about processing visas ahead of America's 'global events,' including the 2028 Games, in a report it commissioned from a group of former high-level officials at the Department of Homeland Security, the Transportation Security Administration and the Customs and Border Protection agency.
For his part, LA28 chair Casey Wasserman, the entertainment and sports management mogul, guaranteed the International Olympic Committee in a March speech that 'irrespective of politics today, America will be open and accepting' to all countries for the Olympics. 'L.A. is the most diverse city in the history of humanity, and we will welcome the people from around the world and give them all a great time.' He added that visas will be handled by a designated desk at the State Department. 'In my many conversations with President Trump and Secretary [Marco] Rubio, they understand the scale and complexity required to deliver these Games, the access required for not just athletes but for delegations, and the incredibly short time frame on which to do those.' LA28 did not comment for this story.
Others are less sanguine. 'Without additional resources, visa processing delays seem likely,' says Emma Prodromou, global visa and immigration manager at the U.K.-based workforce management consultancy Mauve Group. She explains it's 'a real concern, especially given how often complications arise from time-sensitive documents or strict administrative requirements — such as whether an abridged birth certificate is acceptable, or if a police clearance must be issued within 90 days of travel. These small but critical details can easily disrupt travel plans.'
Karine Faure Wenger, who serves as corporate immigration counsel at the international law firm Fragomen, describes the situation as 'very fluid,' noting that 'the extreme enhanced vetting and screening of who is entering the U.S. will make these Games different — although President Trump is going to want the event to be a success, so I'd imagine accommodations will be made.' She also points out that there are countries participating in the Olympics with whom the U.S. doesn't have diplomatic relations, like North Korea and Iran. 'What kinds of concessions will this administration make in those situations?'
The 2026 FIFA World Cup — jointly held by the U.S., Canada and Mexico — is widely considered to be a test run for the 2028 Games. FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who's close to Trump, tells The Hollywood Reporter he's 'not worried at all' about America's ongoing diplomacy tensions, including with its next-door neighbors and co-hosts. 'Next year there will be an invasion of America — but an invasion of people who come to celebrate with a positive spirit,' he says. 'From that perspective, I am sure everything will run smoothly. Of course, there are many people behind the scenes working very hard to make sure everything goes smoothly, so we can welcome the world to America.'
Both the World Cup and the Olympics are designated National Special Security Events, in which the U.S. Secret Service is the lead agency in charge, along with the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security. 'This will give Trump and his administration a lot of leverage over state and local officials,' explains Pacific University professor Jules Boykoff, one of the foremost scholars on the politics of the Olympics. 'ICE will have free reign.'
L.A. Mayor Karen Bass and other local politicians asked Trump in November for $3.2 billion to fund transportation projects ahead of the Games. Much of the request is to double the current fleet of buses to handle the expected millions of ticket holders.
L.A. City Councilman Hugo Soto-Martinez — who, before his 2022 election, was an organizer with the activist group NOlympics LA, which called for the cancellation of the Games over environmental, economic and other concerns — worries that Trump will require concessions in exchange for facilitating financial disbursements. This would mean at the least surrender to, and likely local assistance in, the administration's roundups of undocumented immigrants, as well as the banishment of homeless residents from prominent public spaces. 'We know he uses the power of the purse to try to bully and coerce to do what he wants on his larger agenda,' he says. 'It's, 'If you fight me, I'll punish you.' That's greater with the Olympics.'
Trump is known to enjoy taking center stage at sports spectacles, from UFC bouts to the Super Bowl. Fox News commentator Jesse Watters, a reliable defender of the president, joked on-air in March that 'he's running out of events to go to,' noting, 'he's going to want to hold the torch in L.A.'
NYU hospitality professor Christopher Gaffney, who has studied the Games, agrees, contending that Trump is likely to underscore his worldview at the opening ceremony: 'You know that [authoritarian world leaders] Milei, Bukele and Orbán will be in his presidential box.'
Which is why key officials and outside Games observers alike believe that Trump wants the 2028 Olympics to triumph — if only on his terms. 'This is an opportunity for him to shine,' California Gov. Gavin Newsom said on NBC's Meet the Press in January. Adds Aronson, the USC professor, 'Presuming he doesn't try to run for a third term, this will be his swan song, and it's in his interest to put on a good show.'
Mia Galuppo contributed to this report.
This story appeared in the June 4 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.
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