Trump to create Olympic Games task force

WASHINGTON (AP):

PRESIDENT DONALD Trump is establishing a task force on the 2028 Olympic Games being held in Los Angeles.

Trump was to have signed an executive order yesterday to make the task force official, the White House said.

The 2028 Games will be the first Olympics to be hosted by the US since the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Trump “considers it a great honour to oversee this global sporting spectacle”, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement, calling sports one of the president’s “greatest passions”.

LA28 president and chair Casey Wasserman said the task force “marks an important step forward in our planning efforts and reflects our shared commitment to delivering not just the biggest, but the greatest Games the world has ever seen in the summer of 2028”.

During a briefing yesterday afternoon, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said the task force would “coordinate across federal, state, and local agencies to ensure streamlined visa processes, robust security, and efficient transportation”.

Along with the 2028 Summer Games, Trump has said that the 2026 FIFA World Cup being hosted by the US, Canada, and Mexico is among the events he is most looking forward to in his second term.

In preparation for next year’s competition, the governments of all three countries yesterday said they had held the first meeting of a trilateral coordinating council of government officials, industry leaders, and security professionals discussing a variety of issues including preparedness for any security threats ahead of the World Cup.