Trump names himself chair of L.A. Olympics task force, sees role for military during Games
Washington – In the previous Olympic Games held on American soil, seated presidents played passive and ceremonial roles. President Trump can have other plans.
An executive decree signed by Trump appoints him Tuesday president of a White House working group at the 2028 games in Los Angeles, considered by the president as “a leading opportunity to present American exceptionalism”, according to a white house statement. Trump, the administration, said: “I know that all opportunities highlighting American size on the world stage.”
At the White House, speaking in front of banners adding the presidential seal to the 28 logo, Trump said that he would send the soldiers to Los Angeles if he chooses him to protect the games. In June, Trump sent the National Guard and the US Marines to the city in the midst of generalized immigration implementation measures, despite the widespread conviction of Mayor Karen Bass and other local officials.
“We will do everything necessary to ensure the safety of the Olympic Games, including using our National Guard or our soldier, ok?” He said. “I will use the National Guard or the soldiers. It will be so sure. If we owe it. “
Trump’s decree establishes a working group led by him and vice-president JD Vance to guide the federal coordination for games. The working group will work with federal, state and local partners on security and transport, according to the White House.
These roles have been standard enough for the federal government in previous Olympic Games hosted by the United States. But Trump’s press conference could present questions about the question of whether a president with a penchant for the staging could assume an unusually active role in planning the Olympic Games, which should take place at the twilight of his last mandate.
There are enough preceding for the military and national forces which provide security support during the Olympic Games hosted by the United States. But coming in the heels of the recent military deployment in Los Angeles, Trump’s comments can be controversial.
French President Emmanuel Macron was a key figure in the preparations for the Paris Games of last year, in particular by expressing his vocal support for the ambitious Olympic opening ceremony plan to scroll through athletes on the Seine river on the boats. Many civil servants were concerned about potential threats along the 3.7 -mile section, but the authorities responded by increasing security measures which included up to 45,000 police officers and 10,000 soldiers.
The working group, hosted within the Ministry of Internal Security, “will help planning and implementing visa treatment and accreditation programs for foreign athletes, coaches, managers and media staff,” said the decree. City officials have expressed their concern that the president’s border policies could dissuade international visitors and complicate visa treatment for Olympic teams.
Tensions with the
Trump’s more concentrated involvement could spell new pressure with Los Angeles city officials, who sought to be well in the wake of devastating fires in January, but who fiercely awarded Trump’s immigration offensive. Trump slipped on Bass during his remarks on Tuesday, the appellant “not very competent” and criticizing the rhythm of the city which allows it for the reconstruction of fires. (Bass did not immediately respond to a request for comments.)
Known for his coalition creation skills, Bass is not, by nature, a public brawler. In the aftermath of the fire of the Palisades, she seemed determined to preserve her fragile relations with the president – and the billions of dollars in federal aid to her city depended – responding diplomatically while he attacked him publicly.
But this determined cordiality collapsed when masked immigration agents and military personnel have come down to the city. With troops stationed in the city and the immigration forces and American customs and other federal authorities who have arrested undocumented immigrants at courthouses, car washing and Home Depot parking lots, Bass took Trump with force.
During press conferences and in interviews, she accused the president of carrying out “total assault against Los Angeles”, encouraging chaos and fear and using the city as “a test case for an extremist program”.
Casey Wasserman, president of La28, attended the White House event, thanking Trump for having “leaning” to plan Olympic Games awarded to Los Angeles during his first mandate.
“You have supported and useful at each stage of the process,” said Wasserman, noting that the games would be equivalent to welcoming seven Super Bowls a day for 30 days. “With the creation of this working group, we have released the opportunity to put together our planning and deliver the biggest games and yes, the best games for our nation, never.”
Wasserman will also have a delicate political balancing, managing a game in a deep blue city with a famous Republican Mercurial President in office.
President Trump has a full set of 1984 Olympic Games medals in Los Angeles during Tuesday’s event during which he announced an executive decree concerning federal participation in the Los Angeles 2028 Games.
(Julia Demaoree Nikhinson / Associated Press)
Hollywood Scion and Sports and Entertainment Mogul, Wasserman has long been an eminent democratic donor known for his close relationship with the Clinton.
But in recent months He diversified his gifts, with heavy donations to the National Republican Senate Committee, the National Committee of the Republican Congress and the management fund of the Chamber Mike Johnson. Wasserman publicly praised Trump’s commitment to games and Traveling in Mar-A-Lago In January to meet the new president.
The presidents have long played a role in the games. In 1984, Ronald Reagan officially opened the summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles, becoming the first American president to do so. Reagan attended several Olympic events, but repeatedly stressed that the role of the federal government was focused on the historic Assn of the White House.
The Olympic Charter requires that the head of state of the host country officially opens the games, but before Reagan, the duty had been fulfilled by local political leaders or vice-presidents representing the president.
Constant security
The federal government has historically provided significant funding when the games are hosted on American soil, with financial support that is both for security and infrastructure.
Before the 1996 Games in Atlanta, the federal government spent $ 227 million for security and transport, playing “very a junior partner” on the Olympic committee, then Vice President Al Gore said at the time. However, a bombing at the Centennial Olympic Park During the games this summer shook the security establishment.
The 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City were the first games to be classified as a “national special security event”, the highest government for any event that designates American secret services as the main agency for the implementation of security. This standard has remained in place for the Olympic Games held by the United States since. The secret services will also lead to safety coordination for the 2028 games.
The federal government was particularly involved in the Games of Salt Lake City, which took place a few months after the September 11 attacks.
Los Angeles leaders are actively involved in security planning and are currently in negotiations with the 28 for the use of city police, traffic agents and other employees during the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Safety, waste elimination, traffic control, paramedical paramedics and others will be necessary during the 17 -day Olympic Games and the two -week Paralympic Games the following month.
Below Gaming contract 2021 Between La28 and the City, La28 must reimburse Los Angeles for all the services that go beyond what the city would provide a normal day. The two parties must agree by October 1, 2025 on “improved services” – additional city services necessary for games, beyond this normal level – and determine the rates, reimbursement times, audit rights and other processes.
Overtime for the Los Angeles police, and any other important expense, would be seriously felt by a city government which recently closed a budget deficit of nearly a billion dollarsPartly by slowing down the police of the police.
Wilner reported Washington, Wick and Nguyen from Los Angeles. The staff editor Dakota Smith has contributed to this report.
