Donald Trump threatens to pull World Cup matches from Boston

VIDEO SHOWS: DONALD TRUMP COMMENTS ON BOSTON HOSTING FIFA WORLD CUP GAMES AT PRESS CONFERENCE WITH ARGENTINE PRESIDENT JAVIER MILEI, FILE FOOTAGE OF TRUMP & GIANNI INFANTINO IN THE OVAL OFFICE, AND FILE FOOTAGE OF GILLETTE STADIUM RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SCRIPT SHOWS: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (OCTOBER 14, 2025) (UNRESTRICTED POOL – Access all) 1. DONALD TRUMP ADDRESSES TABLE INCLUDING ARGENTINA PRESIDENT JAVIER MILEI 2. (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP, SAYING:     (REPORTER: "Mr President, Boston had some street takeovers that we saw. Are you going to work with or try and work with the mayor of Boston? And then they have a World Cup, they have several World Cup games, I know Argentina knows about World Cups, they have several World Cup games, could those games move to cities that do work with you?")     "We could take them away. I love the people of Boston. I know the games are sold out. But your mayor is not good. There are worse than her. At least she's intelligent. You know, some are extremely low IQ. Those bother me more. She's intelligent, but she's radical left. And they're taking over parts of Boston, that's a pretty big statement, right? We could get them back in about two seconds. All she has to do is call us. We'll go in and take them back. But she's afraid to, because she thinks it's bad politically."  3. AMERICAN AND ARGENTINE DELEGATES AROUND THE MEETING TABLE 4. (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP, SAYING:     "No, 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 (Infantino), the head of FIFA, who's phenomenal, and I would say, 'let's move it to another location.' And he would do that. He wouldn't love to do it, but he'd do it. Very easily, he'd do it. And this is the right time to do it. If I thought Boston was doing something that was going to be – cause safety conditions for the, you know, World Cup, I could say the same thing for the Olympics. Because, you know, we have events that are in different locations for the Olympics. It's based in L.A. If I thought L.A. was not going to be prepared properly, I would move it to another location, if I had to." 5. AMERICAN AND ARGENTINE DELEGATES AROUND THE MEETING TABLE 6. (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP, SAYING:     "Boston better clean up their act, that's all I can say." WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (FILE – AUGUST 22, 2025) (UNRESTRICTED POOL – Access all) 7. VARIOUS OF TRUMP AND FIFA PRESIDENT GIANNI INFANTINO IN THE OVAL OFFICE WITH THE FIFA WORLD CUP TROPHY 8. INFANTINO PRESENTS TRUMP WITH LARGE, SYMBOLIC, WORLD CUP FINAL TICKET FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS, UNITED STATES (FILE – JUNE 10, 2022) (REUTERS – Access all) (MUTE) 9. VARIOUS AERIAL SHOTS OF GILLETTE STADIUM – HOME OF NFL'S NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS, UNITED STATES (FILE – SEPTEMBER 2024) (FIFA VNR – Access all) 10. INTERIOR OF STADIUM STORY: U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday (October 14) that he could consider relocating 2026 World Cup matches scheduled for the Boston area, citing public safety concerns and criticizing Boston Mayor Michelle Wu. Seven World Cup games are slated for Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, about 30 miles southwest of Boston, as part of the 2026 tournament co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada. FIFA finalized the 16 host cities and match allocations in 2022. Tournament control ultimately rests with FIFA. Earlier this month, FIFA vice president Victor Montagliani reiterated the body's authority over venue decisions: "It's FIFA's tournament, FIFA's jurisdiction. FIFA makes those decisions." Trump's remarks came during his White House appearance with Argentine President Javier Milei, days after Boston police reported multiple arrests tied to a late-night street gathering that turned violent. Wu's office did not immediately comment. The first match in Boston is scheduled for June 13, featuring teams from Group C on Day 3 of the tournament. (Production: Joseph Andrews)

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