Donald Trump to chair new Olympic taskforce in bid to allay international visitor concerns ahead of 2028 Los Angeles Games
- Written by Richard Hargy, Visiting Research Fellow in International Studies, Queen's University Belfast
The US president, Donald Trump, signed an executive order[1] on August 5 to set up a government taskforce to manage the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. During the White House announcement, Trump said: “We’ll do anything necessary to keep the Olympics safe[2], including using our National Guard or military.”
This move may go some way to addressing international concern over the Trump administration’s tough immigration polices, which include a travel ban on 12 countries[3]. There were fears that this could make it difficult[4] for some international supporters to attend the games (although athletes and coaches[5] are exempt).
A report[6] earlier this year by the US Travel Association also flagged concerns over the US’s ability to logistically manage an event on this scale.
The upcoming Fifa World Cup in 2026 will be seen as a dry run for the Olympics in terms of handling large numbers of international visitors. Thousands of supporters[7] are likely to travel between co-hosts, the US, Canada and Mexico, to attend different matches.
Victor Matheson, a professor at College of Holy Cross in Massachusetts, who specialises in sports economics, has said: “You could have significant immigration problems[8] with fans and players going across borders.”
Read more: Masked and armed agents are arresting people on US streets as aggressive immigration enforcement ramps up[9]
There are, however, a number of political factors at play in Trump’s decision to create a special task force. Its formation comes in the wake of Trump’s contentious decision[10] in June 2025 to order the deployment of National Guard troops and US Marines onto the streets of Los Angeles. This was in response to protests against immigration raids[11] launched by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) across the city.
Since then, relations between the Trump administration and Los Angeles municipal officials, including the mayor Karen Bass, have been fairly frosty[12]. After arrests by federal authorities in LA, Bass accused Trump of “ratcheting up chaos”, and perpetuating a “political agenda of provoking fear and terror[13]”. Trump referred to Bass as “not very competent”[14] during the recent White House event.
At a separate event, administration spokesperson Tammy Bruce said the task force would “coordinate across federal[15], state and local agencies to ensure streamlined visa processes, robust security and efficient transportation”.
It is not unprecedented[16] for a US administration to assume this type of role over a major event. The military and National Guard have previously provided support to state and municipal agencies when US cities have hosted major sporting fixtures.
This will partly be about the memory of what happened at the Altanta games in 1996, when a bomb attack[17] killed two people and injured 111. The 2028 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games had already been designated a “national security event”[18].
The scale of security planning for the Los Angeles Olympics will be huge. And Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act[19] has already set aside US$1 billion (£745,190,000)[20] in federal government funding for security at the 2028 games.
Trump announces the task force for the Olympics.Jules Boykoff[21], a professor of politics and government at Pacific University, has said that designating Los Angeles 2028 a national security special event gives the federal government broader latitude to have control over the organisation of the games, and that he expects to see “President Trump flexing[22] like that more and more, the closer that we get to the Olympic Games”.
Boykoff also warned that the national special security event status now given to the LA Olympics may provide an opportunity for further crackdowns[23] in the city.
There are also political risks for the Trump administration if immigration policies throw up issues for people attending the games, or it is not seen as successful. The president has made reducing immigration a priority policy, but his way of doing this and sending in masked Ice agents is losing support[24].
William A. Galston[25], a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, pointed out recently that the way it is being carried out is not necessarily popular. Galston pointed to a YouGov poll taken in July which found that 52% of Americans said Trump’s immigration policy was “too harsh”, while 54% said Ice agents have gone “too far”[26] in enforcing immigration laws.
In dealing with international apprehension about who can attend and travel restrictions, the White House has said that the new task force will “streamline visa processing[27] and credentialing” for participants and media. Despite this assurance, there are concerns[28] from some Los Angeles officials that the administration’s immigration policies could deter tourists and complicate the issuing of visas for Olympic teams.
Earlier this year, the man in charge of the Los Angeles Olympics, Casey Wasserman, sought to allay these worries. In an address to the International Olympic Committee in Pylos, Greece, Wasserman said that he had received assurances[29] from Trump and the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, and that he did not “anticipate any problems[30] from any country to come and participate and have their delegations in full force.”
Trump clearly wants to host a triumphant Los Angeles 2028, and hopes that a successful games will boost his popularity. He will expect his new task force to smooth the way for that to happen.
References
- ^ executive order (www.whitehouse.gov)
- ^ Olympics safe (apnews.com)
- ^ 12 countries (www.bbc.co.uk)
- ^ difficult (www.nytimes.com)
- ^ athletes and coaches (www.bbc.co.uk)
- ^ report (www.ustravel.org)
- ^ supporters (theconversation.com)
- ^ immigration problems (globalnews.ca)
- ^ Masked and armed agents are arresting people on US streets as aggressive immigration enforcement ramps up (theconversation.com)
- ^ contentious decision (www.reuters.com)
- ^ immigration raids (www.bbc.co.uk)
- ^ frosty (www.nytimes.com)
- ^ fear and terror (time.com)
- ^ “not very competent” (www.seattletimes.com)
- ^ “coordinate across federal (abcnews.go.com)
- ^ unprecedented (edition.cnn.com)
- ^ bomb attack (news.bbc.co.uk)
- ^ “national security event” (www.secretservice.gov)
- ^ One Big Beautiful Bill Act (www.congress.gov)
- ^ US$1 billion (£745,190,000) (www.cbsnews.com)
- ^ Jules Boykoff (www.pacificu.edu)
- ^ President Trump flexing (laist.com)
- ^ for further crackdowns (www.theguardian.com)
- ^ is losing support (www.natesilver.net)
- ^ William A. Galston (www.brookings.edu)
- ^ “too far” (www.brookings.edu)
- ^ “streamline visa processing (www.theguardian.com)
- ^ concerns (www.latimes.com)
- ^ assurances (www.latimes.com)
- ^ “anticipate any problems (www.reuters.com)
