President Donald Trump on Tuesday threatened to relocate the 2026 World Cup matches in Boston if there are “unsafe conditions” in the city.
Trump said “we can take them away,” in reference to next year’s World Cup games in Boston, The Athletic reported. The president also criticized Democratic Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, claiming that her leadership is “not good.”
“If somebody is doing a bad job, and if I feel there’s unsafe conditions, I would call [FIFA president Gianni Infantino] – the head of FIFA who’s phenomenal – and I would say, ‘Let’s move into another location,’ and they would do that,” Trump said. “He wouldn’t love to do it, but he’d do it very easily.”
“I love the people of Boston,” Trump continued. “I know the games are sold out, but your mayor is not good.”
Trump also blasted Wu as a “radical left” Democrat. Wu has notably been a vocal critic of Trump during his second term.
“She’s intelligent … but she’s radical left,” Trump said.
Trump later said “they’re taking over parts of Boston,” without offering further details. He added that “we could get them back in about two seconds. All she has to do is call us.”
There were 24 homicides in Boston in all of 2024, marking the lowest number since 1957, MassLive reported. However, thus far in 2025, there have been 27 homicides in the city.
“Boston is honored and excited to host World Cup matches, and we look forward to welcoming fans from around the world to our beautiful city, the cradle of liberty and city of champions,” Wu said in a statement provided to the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Boston is one of 11 U.S. cities set to host matches for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Other major American cities hosting matches next year include Atlanta, Dallas, Houston and Los Angeles.
In March, Trump established a White House task force to oversee preparations for the 2025 and 2026 FIFA World Cup games.
Wu has recently faced growing demands for urgent reforms to her hiring practices following a wave of high-profile arrests and scandals involving Boston city employees. In August, Wu pledged to resist Trump’s Department of Justice (DOJ) by protecting criminal illegal immigrants located in Boston.
Additionally, Wu previously compared Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to a New England neo-Nazi group, National Socialist Club-131, citing the fact that they both wear masks.
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