Latest news with #2028SummerOlympics
The Star
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Star
Olympics-LA28's Wasserman says Trump-led task force shows government commitment
FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump, accompanied by LA28 Chairman Casey Wasserman, holds 1984 Los Angeles Olympics medals as he delivers remarks before signing an executive order to create a White House Olympics task force to handle security and other issues related to the LA 2028 Summer Olympics, in the South Court Auditorium on the White House campus in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 5, 2025. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -LA28 Chairman Casey Wasserman on Friday defended President Donald Trump's controversial decision to name himself head of a White House task force for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, saying it reflected the federal government's commitment to the Games. "The president naming himself the chair is unique, but I think it shows the importance of this event to the president and the federal government, which just validates their support and their commitment to delivering these Games with us," Wasserman told Reuters. Noting that then-Vice President Al Gore chaired the White House task force for the 1996 Atlanta Games, Wasserman said, "This is not a new concept... This is business as usual." Trump, a Republican, said this week he would lead the task force to deliver a "safe, seamless and historically successful" Olympics to California's largest city, a stronghold of the opposition Democratic Party. The Los Angeles Times, in an editorial on Thursday, called for the city to pull out of the Games due to Trump's involvement, citing the administration's deportation blitz in the region. Wasserman was in Washington as Trump signed the executive order on Tuesday creating the task force, which is meant to help coordinate security, transportation, visa processing and other issues related to the 2028 Games. "This administration and the whole force of the federal government has truly been consistently engaged, supportive and responsive," Wasserman said. "That's all you could ask for with what we're trying to do." He said the organizers, working with 36 federal agencies, need a unified federal effort rather than "piecemeal" engagement. Trump has not shied away from the glare of the sports spotlight during his second term. In May he created a presidential task force for soccer's 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will be held in the United States, Mexico and Canada. In February Trump became the first sitting president to attend a Super Bowl and last month he was on the field in New Jersey to celebrate Chelsea's win in the FIFA Club World Cup. (Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; Editing by William Mallard)
CBS News
05-08-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Trump to sign executive order creating task force for 2028 Los Angeles Olympics
President Trump will sign an executive order Tuesday creating a task force to oversee the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, and he's putting himself in charge of it, the White House confirmed Monday. Reuters news service first reported the task force, which it said would work on security, transportation and visa processing. California Gov. Gavin Newsom and LA Mayor Karen Bass — both of whom have a contentious relationship with the president — have not yet responded to news of the task force. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement that Mr. Trump had been "instrumental in securing America's bid to host the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles," and he "considers it a great honor to oversee this global sporting spectacle in his second term." Casey Wasserman, the chair and president of the LA Olympics said in a statement, "On behalf of LA28, I want to express our deep appreciation to President Trump and his Administration for their leadership and unwavering support as we prepare to deliver the largest and most ambitious Olympic and Paralympic Games ever hosted in the United States." He added that since LA had won its bid to host the Olympics in 2028, "President Trump has consistently recognized the magnitude of our responsibility in welcoming the world to Los Angeles," and he praised the creation of the task force. In Feburary, Mr. Trump signed an executive order directing the office of the secretary of state and homeland security secretary to "review and adjust" policies permitting transgender athletes and issue guidance to try to prevent them from entering the U.S. The order also directed the secretary of state to press the International Olympic Committee to stop transgender athletes from competing in women's sporting events. Mr. Trump also chairs a federal task force to oversee preparations for the 2026 World Cup, which the United States, Canada and Mexico will host jointly. The Trump-backed One Big Beautiful Bill Act sets aside $1 billion in federal funding to pay for security and planning for the Olympics, plus $625 million for World Cup security.
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump's travel ban allows athletes from affected nations into US for the World Cup and Olympics. Fans may be stuck at home
President Donald Trump's latest travel limitations may keep fans from the 19 named nations from seeing their athletes compete in some of the globe's most important sporting events in the next several years, even if the on-field competition won't be affected. The president's proclamation does not appear to have a major immediate impact on planning for the World Cup, 2028 Summer Olympics or other major international sporting events scheduled for his second term in office as athletes, coaches, support staff and immediate family members will still be able to enter the country. But fans from those nations now face an even more uphill battle to see games in person, despite members of the Trump administration encouraging the world to come to the US for these global events. Trump's travel ban fully restricts travel from Afghanistan; Myanmar, also known as Burma; Chad; Republic of the Congo; Equatorial Guinea; Eritrea; Haiti; Iran; Libya; Somalia; Sudan; and Yemen. There are partial restrictions for Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela. But there are exceptions carved out in the proclamation, including for athletes, coaches, important staffers and immediate family for athletes traveling to the US for the World Cup, Olympics and 'other major sporting event as determined by the Secretary of State.' The proclamation also states that people who have existing visas to be in the United States will not have their visas revoked as a part of the travel ban. That means the Iranian national team – which has already qualified for the 2026 World Cup – will be able to play in the tournament, as would Sierre Leone, Sudan, Libya, Burundi, Venezuela, Cuba and Haiti should those teams qualify. Those nations are still in the fight for qualification for the World Cup as the tournament field becomes clearer. The Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Chad, Togo and Somalia all appear to be longshots for World Cup qualification and Afghanistan, Laos, Myanmar, Yemen and Turkmenistan have already been eliminated. While the teams, their staffs and their immediate family would be able to travel to the US for the tournament, the travel ban would likely keep most of their fans from coming into the country for any games. With the tournament being hosted by the US, Mexico and Canada, fans from the affected nations may be able to still travel to cheer on their teams in the tournament should they be scheduled in either Mexico or Canada. With qualification still ongoing, those fans won't know if that will happen for quite some time – qualification for the tournament doesn't wrap up until later this year and the drawing of teams into groups won't happen until that is done. The US visa process for fans of the affected nations is already arduous and, even without a ban in place, the approvals would take time. There are already concerns over how long approvals for visas into the US may take for fans hoping to see World Cup action. There are 42 countries that are a part of the US visa waiver program, meaning their citizens are allowed to stay in the country for up to 90 days for tourism or business without a formal visa. Some of the countries that are most synonymous with the men's World Cup – defending champion Argentina, five-time winner Brazil, Colombia, Uruguay and even tournament co-host Mexico – are not a part of that program. While the Trump administration has promised to speed up visa approvals for fans looking to cheer on their teams, the lengthy review process for nations that are not in the visa waiver program might have kept fans from the 19 nations affected by the proclamation from coming to the US anyway. When asked specifically about whether fans from Iran and other affected nations would be given exemption from the travel ban for the World Cup, State Department principal deputy spokesman Thomas Pigott demurred. 'Both people that are coming and Americans would hope that we can have confidence that when people come to United States, when they come, that they are properly vetted,' Pigott told reporters on Thursday. 'I think this goes to the exact same consideration. I think this is part of what it means to host an event of this magnitude, to make sure that we can have that confidence. And again, we're in constant communication with countries about ways that we can see the vetting process we need to see, have that collaboration, make sure that we're having those security concerns addressed.' In a response to CNN Sports' question Friday on whether fans should expect to not be able to come to the US for the World Cup or Olympics, a State Department spokesperson said, 'We are implementing the President's directive to secure U.S. borders and protect American communities and citizens. We are not going to get into hypotheticals or specific cases about application of the Proclamation.' Athletes already in the US, such as the many Venezuelans and Cubans who play in Major League Baseball, are exempted from the travel ban. When asked about these athletes, the White House pointed toward the section of the proclamation that states 'no immigrant or nonimmigrant visa issued before the applicable effective date of this proclamation shall be revoked pursuant to this proclamation.' Many foreign athletes who play in the United States do so under the P-1A visa and those are valid for five years. There are still some unanswered questions about the travel ban and its effect on international sporting events held in the US. While the World Cup and Olympics are specifically spelled out in the proclamation, other tournaments – like soccer's Gold Cup or track and field meets – are not. CNN has reached out to the State Department for additional information on how the secretary of State would determine what constitutes a major sporting event and what the timeline for that decision would look like. The Trump administration has made it clear that it wants foreign visitors to come to the US for the World Cup and Olympics, but immigration concerns remain top of mind, as evidenced by a comment Vice President JD Vance made last month during the first meeting of the White House's World Cup task force. 'I know we'll have visitors, probably from close to 100 countries,' said Vance. 'We want them to come. We want them to celebrate. We want them to watch the game. But when the time is up, they'll have to go home. Otherwise, they'll have to talk to (Homeland Security) Secretary (Kristi) Noem.' Noem's department includes Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which is responsible for deportations out of the US. Organizers of LA 2028 said at a news conference on Thursday that they were confident the travel ban will not affect the Summer Olympics and appreciated the federal government for recognizing the Games' importance. 'It was very clear in the directive that the Olympics require special consideration and I actually want to thank the federal government for recognizing that,' LA28 Chairman and President Casey Wasserman said, according to the Associated Press. 'It's very clear that the federal government understands that that's an environment that they will be accommodating and provide for,' he said. 'We have great confidence that that will only continue. It has been the case to date and it will certainly be the case going forward through the games.' The US Travel Association said in a statement that, while the proportion of annual foreign visitors affected by the ban is just 0.5%, the major global events taking place in the US over the next few years represent an opportunity to attract new visitors to the US. 'The travel industry supports policies that make the United States both secure and welcoming. In some instances, this is a challenging balance to achieve, and we respect the administration's efforts,' the association told CNN Sports in a statement.
Bloomberg
06-06-2025
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Trump Signs Order to Boost Drone Security Before World Cup
President Donald Trump signed executive orders Friday to boost US drone capabilities, including strengthening counter-drone tools ahead of major sporting events such as the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the 2028 Summer Olympics that will be hosted in the country. 'Taking action on airspace security has never been timelier,' Michael Kratsios, the director of White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy, told reporters Friday, citing the upcoming events that are expected to draw millions of fans to the US. 'The administration is cracking down on unlawful drone use, ordering a federal task force to ensure US control over American skies and prioritizing the detection and identification of drones in real time.'
Fox News
20-05-2025
- Sport
- Fox News
Flag Football is Making its Olympic Debut
In the 2028 Summer Olympics, six men's teams an six women's teams will be competing for the gold. #Olympics #2028Olympics #LAOlympics Learn more about your ad choices. Visit Jeffrey Petz
