President Donald Trump suggested Tuesday that he could pull 2026 World Cup games from Gillette Stadium over “unsafe conditions” in Massachusetts, citing recent street takeovers.Boston is a host city for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with games set to be played at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough.In a meeting with Argentina’s president, Trump alluded to violent car meets, including one in Boston’s South End that left a marked police cruiser destroyed by fire — an incident that was part of several other similar attacks in Massachusetts over one weekend.Trump also referred to his contentious relationship with Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, saying that she is harming the city and that he would consider pulling the games from Gillette Stadium.”I think she is hurting Boston. The answer is yes. If somebody is 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, if I thought Boston was going to cause safety conditions for the World Cup,” Trump said. “I could say the same thing for the Olympics.”World Cup host sites aren’t up to Trump. The 11 U.S. cities — plus three in Mexico and two in Canada — are contracted with FIFA, which would face significant logistical and legal issues to make changes in the eight months before the June 11 kickoff.“It’s FIFA’s tournament, FIFA’s jurisdiction, FIFA makes those decisions,” the soccer body’s vice president Victor Montagliani said earlier this month at a sports business conference in London.Boston is among over a dozen North American cities picked to host the World Cup games, including New York City and Los Angeles, the latter of which Trump referred to regarding his deployment of the National Guard in June.Troops were sent to Los Angeles after protests erupted over immigration raids in the city.Trump called the situation “a rough one,” saying that he would also consider the same in Boston.”If we saw a situation like that, yeah, we’d be forced to make a move. Boston better clean up their act. That’s all I can say,” Trump said. “I know the games are sold out, but your mayor is not good. They’re worse than her. At least she’s intelligent. Some are extremely low IQ. She’s intelligent, but she’s radical left, and they’re taking over parts of Boston,” Trump said.Wu responded to Trump’s comments in a statement to NewsCenter 5: “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.The first phase of World Cup ticket lotteries went on sale in September. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
President Donald Trump suggested Tuesday that he could pull 2026 World Cup games from Gillette Stadium over “unsafe conditions” in Massachusetts, citing recent street takeovers.
Boston is a host city for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with games set to be played at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough.
In a meeting with Argentina’s president, Trump alluded to violent car meets, including one in Boston’s South End that left a marked police cruiser destroyed by fire — an incident that was part of several other similar attacks in Massachusetts over one weekend.
Trump also referred to his contentious relationship with Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, saying that she is harming the city and that he would consider pulling the games from Gillette Stadium.
“I think she is hurting Boston. The answer is yes. If somebody is 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, if I thought Boston was going to cause safety conditions for the World Cup,” Trump said. “I could say the same thing for the Olympics.”
World Cup host sites aren’t up to Trump. The 11 U.S. cities — plus three in Mexico and two in Canada — are contracted with FIFA, which would face significant logistical and legal issues to make changes in the eight months before the June 11 kickoff.
“It’s FIFA’s tournament, FIFA’s jurisdiction, FIFA makes those decisions,” the soccer body’s vice president Victor Montagliani said earlier this month at a sports business conference in London.
Boston is among over a dozen North American cities picked to host the World Cup games, including New York City and Los Angeles, the latter of which Trump referred to regarding his deployment of the National Guard in June.
Troops were sent to Los Angeles after protests erupted over immigration raids in the city.
Trump called the situation “a rough one,” saying that he would also consider the same in Boston.
“If we saw a situation like that, yeah, we’d be forced to make a move. Boston better clean up their act. That’s all I can say,” Trump said. “I know the games are sold out, but your mayor is not good. They’re worse than her. At least she’s intelligent. Some are extremely low IQ. She’s intelligent, but she’s radical left, and they’re taking over parts of Boston,” Trump said.
Wu responded to Trump’s comments in a statement to NewsCenter 5:
“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.
The first phase of World Cup ticket lotteries went on sale in September.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.