Will Trump Torch L.A.'s Olympics?

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.
More from The Hollywood Reporter
Seth Meyers on Finding Joy (and Comedy) in Trump's Second Term
Trump Biopic 'The Apprentice' Dominates Politically Charged Canadian Screen Awards
Would Trump Pardon Sean "Diddy" Combs? "I Would Certainly Look at the Facts," President Says
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.
Best of The Hollywood Reporter
Most Anticipated Concert Tours of 2025: Beyoncé, Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar & SZA, Sabrina Carpenter and More
Hollywood's Most Notable Deaths of 2025
Hollywood's Highest-Profile Harris Endorsements: Taylor Swift, George Clooney, Bruce Springsteen and More

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

New York Post

35 minutes ago

• New York Post

Vance: ‘No interest in boots on the ground' — but bracing for poss. sleeper-cell attacks in US

Vice President JD Vance on Sunday insisted the US has no interest in putting boots on the ground in Iran — while admitting the administration is bracing for potential terror attacks from sleeper cells in America. 'We're not at war with Iran. We're at war with Iran's nuclear program,' Vance told NBC's 'Meet the Press.' 'We have no interest in a protracted conflict. We have no interest in boots on the ground,' he said. 'We didn't blow up diplomacy. 'We only took this action when it was clear, as the president said, that the Iranians were tapping us along,' the vice president said of the US strikes against Iran's nuclear facilities Saturday. 'The Iranians are clearly not very good at war. Perhaps they should follow President Trump's lead and give peace a chance if they're serious about it. I guarantee you, the president of the United States is,' Vance said. 4 Vice President JD Vance on Sunday warns Iran against retaliation. NBC 4 The Pentagon laid out a timeline for how 'Operation Midnight Hammer' unfolded against Iran on Saturday. Dept of Defense The vice president insisted Iran's network of terrorist proxies in the region is already washed up, as is its nuclear program, though comprehensive damage assessments haven't been finished. After announcing the successful military campaign late Saturday, Trump dramatically warned that any retaliation from Iran 'will be met with force far greater than what was witnessed' during the strikes on its Fordow, Natanz and Esfahan nuclear sites. Vance reiterated that warning and underscored that 'it would be the stupidest thing in the world if they' seek retribution. He also indicated that the US has been battening down the hatches just in case. 'We're, of course, doing everything that we can to keep our people safe. I think that we're prepared in the event that the Iranians do retaliate,' Vance said — before later warning about possible sleeper cells in the US. 'Unfortunately, we know that a lot of people who we don't have full accounting of were let in over the last four years under the Biden administration,' Vance said. Also among the fears of reciprocation from Iran is that Tehran could target US bases and other military assets in the Mideast or close off the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway through which about 20% to 25% of the world's oil consumption flows. 4 Vance joined President Trump in the Situation Room to monitor the strikes Saturday. The White House/X Vance said it would be 'suicidal' for Iran to try to shut the strait, particularly given the havoc that would wreak on its already beleaguered economy. But he reiterated that 'our biggest red line is the Iranian nuclear weapons.' Vance, throughout his tenure as an elected official, has staked out a staunch anti-war position. He had long been skeptical of protracted US aid to war-torn Ukraine. In March, a leaked Signal message chat revealed that he was privately apprehensive about Trump's strike against the Houthis in Yemen. Despite that, Vance was adamant Sunday that Trump is being prudent with his use of military force and that preventing Iran's theocratic regime from obtaining a nuke is within America's core interests. 'The president has actually been one of the fiercest critics of 25 years of failed foreign policy in the Middle East, which is why he did what he did: a very precise, a very surgical strike tailored to an American national interest,' Vance said. 'I don't fear that this is going to become a protracted conflict because I think that we have a president who knows what's in America's interest.' The vice president also juxtaposed Trump's use of military action against Iran with how past presidents have dealt with conflicts in the tumultuous region. 4 Top military officials are still assessing the damage done to the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant and other facilities. MAXAR Technologies 'I certainly empathize with Americans who are exhausted after 25 years of foreign entanglements in the Middle East,' he stressed. 'I understand the concern. But the difference is that back then we had a dumb president.' Shortly after news of the strikes broke, a chorus of Democrats called for Trump to be impeached, accusing him of exceeding his military authority. Even some Republicans, such as Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), called the airstrikes unconstitutional. Vance, a former Ohio senator, shrugged off those concerns and stressed that 'the president has clear authority to act to prevent proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.' Earlier this year, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard testified before the House and Senate intelligence committees that the US intelligence community assessed that 'Iran is not building a nuclear weapon.' She later accused the media of misconstruing her words. 'They were way too close to a nuclear weapon for the comfort of the president of the United States, which is why he took this action,' Vance said of the Iranians. 'We had a narrow window of opportunity. 'We might not have been able to carry out this attack six months down the road,' he added. 'It would have been irresponsible, I think, for the president not to take the action that he did. 'What happens next is up to the Iranians,' Vance assessed at another point in the interview.

The Hill

40 minutes ago

• The Hill

Trump touts ‘great unity' in GOP after Iran strikes, pushes to get ‘big, beautiful' bill done

President Trump touted the 'great unity' among Republicans following the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, as he called on the party to focus on getting his agenda bill through to his desk. 'Great unity in the Republican Party, perhaps unity like we have never seen before,' Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Sunday. 'Now let's get the Great, Big, Beautiful Bill done. Our Country is doing GREAT. MAGA!' he added. The president's remarks come after he announced Saturday evening that U.S. forces bombed three Iranian nuclear sites and said to Iran in a social media post, 'NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE!' The bombs targeted three nuclear sites in Natanz, Esfahan and Fordow, located inside a mountain. Six 'bunker buster' bombs were reportedly dropped on Fordow, while more than two dozen Tomahawk missiles were launched at the other two sites. The bombings put the U.S. directly in Iran's crosshairs for retaliation and made it an active participant in the Mideastern war, which Israel launched with airstrikes against Iran on June 13. Ahead of the strikes, news outlets had focused on the so-called 'civil war' in the GOP, between the pro-Israel foreign policy hawks and supporters who identified more with the 'America-First' agenda. Members of both groups had been publicly lobbying the president in opposite directions as he considered taking military actions against Iran. While some anti-interventionist Republicans—including Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.)—still publicly criticized the strikes, most of the GOP expressed support following the announcement. The news also comes as the Senate enters a pivotal week for the president's massive agenda bill, which Republican leaders in Congress still say they hope to get done by July 4.

Wall Street Journal

41 minutes ago

• Wall Street Journal

Standards Slip at Fort Bragg

'On Display at D.C.'s Parade: Tanks, Drones and the Military's Identity Crisis' (Review, June 14) cites President Trump's speech at Fort Bragg in which he used a group of soldiers as stage props in a piece of political theater. The authors refer to it as 'a breach of traditional decorum.' I believe it is an egregious violation of U.S. military standards of conduct. Our armed forces have sedulously separated themselves from partisan politics—and soldiers on duty, in uniform, booing or cheering remarks in a blatantly political speech are acting in contravention to those standards. One might note that politicians don't campaign on military installations; nor should they. That a politician would use soldiers in this way is profoundly disrespectful to the Constitution and to the troops who are sworn to defend it. It appears that refresher training in standards of conduct would be in order at Fort Bragg. Moreover, someone might inform the president of what type of speech or behavior is appropriate for uniformed military audiences.