President Trump signed 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 task force will coordinate federal planning for transportation, security and visa processing for the 2028 games. Mr. Trump said he’s directing agencies like the State Department and Justice Department to “use every tool at their disposal to ensure a fantastic, safe and beautiful event.”
The president will personally chair the task force — in line with a similar Trump-led task force to oversee preparations for the 2026 World Cup — and Vice President JD Vance will serve as its vice chair. Other members include Attorney General Pam Bondi and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles.
In response to questions from reporters, the president said Tuesday, “we’ll do anything necessary to keep the Olympics safe, including using our National Guard or military.”
Plenty of people who train their whole lives for a single moment in the spotlight simply aren’t paying attention to the US political scene. Plenty more are, themselves, coming from countries with brutal dictatorial governments and slavishly servile media networks, and simply don’t see what the big deal is.
I won’t say these competitions aren’t about the money, because a ton of it changes hands and the system is notoriously corrupt. But, for the athletes themselves, this isn’t just “giving up a million dollars”. It’s “giving up the last ten years of a 16 year old’s life’s work”.
It would be like telling Magnus Carlson to give up on chess or Jose Altuv to stop playing baseball.
Would you give this advice to Jesse Owens?