By Rory Carroll
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Los Angeles 2028 Olympic officials on Thursday said they have been in contact with the incoming Trump administration and are confident that the U.S. federal government will deliver on its promises to support the Games.
The federal government plays a key role in providing security, transportation, travel assistance for the Olympics.
“We’ve developed relationships with the incoming Trump administration through the transition team,” LA28 CEO Reynold Hoover told Reuters.
“We’ve developed relationships within our federal partners across the departments and agencies that all have a role in helping us deliver the greatest Games ever,” added Hoover, a retired Army Lt. Gen. who was hired by LA28 in June.
Casey Wasserman, chairman and president of LA28 who helped lead the city’s successful bid for the Games, said the Olympics are apolitical.
“President Trump was president when we got the Games in 2017 and signed federally binding documents that committed them to deliver security and transportation,” Wasserman told a press conference following the International Olympic Committee (IOC) coordination commission’s visit to Los Angeles.”The Olympics aren’t about politics. They’re not about red and blue, they’re about red, white and blue.
“These are America’s Games taking place in Los Angeles, and it sits above politics in just about every way we experience.”
The first Trump administration in 2017 enacted a travel ban targeting several Muslim-majority countries, which U.S. President Donald Trump at the time said was needed to protect the U.S. against attacks by Islamist militants.
President Joe Biden ended the travel ban when he took office in 2021.
Wasserman said he was not concerned that a return of similar travel restrictions would impact the Southern California city’s ability to host the Games.
“No. When he was president and in his comments leading up to the election, President-elect Trump has been incredibly clear about the responsibility we have in hosting world events starting with the World Cup in 2026 and subsequently with the Olympics,” he said.
“Travel, security, transportation, logistics – there’s a lot that they provide and it’s well known and well accepted across the federal government.
“So we look forward to continuing the very good partnership we’ve had at all levels of the federal government.”
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; Editing by Stephen Coates)
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