By Harry Awurumibe, Editor, Abuja Bureau
United States president-elect Donald Trump has defied agitations by his Make America Great Again (MAGA) allies to pledge total support to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games, vowing they will be the “greatest Games” despite concerns over the impact of the recent wildfire on preparations.
Calls from some of his top allies for the event to be relocated as punishment against their partisan enemies have been loud by Trump’s supporters but he has endorsed the multi-sports global competition to still hold as scheduled.
Casey Wasserman, Chairman of the LA 2028 Organizing Committee, met with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida during the week and provided full backing despite some critics calling for the Olympics to be moved.
“These are America’s Olympics,” Trump told Wasserman, according to news website Axios.
“These are more important than ever to L.A. and I’m going to be supportive in every way possible to make them the greatest Games,” he added.
The recent Los Angeles wildfire disaster has raised questions over whether the city can deliver a safe and successful Games.
So far, none of the more than 80 venues due to stage Olympic competition in Los Angeles have been directly affected by the infernos that have left at least 25 people dead and left entire neighborhoods in ruins.
“As a lifelong Angeleno, I shared our sentiments for President-elect Trump’s continued support in Los Angeles amid the devastation in our region,” Wasserman said in a statement to Axios.
While the flames that razed Pacific Palisades came uncomfortably close to the Riviera Country Club — which will host 2028’s Olympic golf tournament — the overwhelming majority of venues are situated outside what would be regarded as high-risk fire zones.
The 2028 Games are due to start on July 14 and will close on July 30.
As head of state, Trump would be expected to play a central role in the opening of the Games.
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Meanwhile, the president-elect’s reaffirmation of his support for the competition being held in L.A. clashes with two of his top allies.
Since ongoing wildfires began devastating parts of the city, GOP Rep. Jim Jordan (OH) said yes when asked by a TV interviewer if he thought Trump should move the Olympics to a “red city where you know things are going to be run properly.”
Charlie Kirk, the MAGA political activist who runs a conservative nonprofit crucial to Republican get-out-the-vote efforts, expressed similar sentiments on social media, saying the Games should be relocated to Dallas or Miami.
