Agreement locked down by contract and cannot be undone, says Michelle Wu
Boston mayor Michelle Wu has hit back against President Donald Trump’s threat to have Fifa relocate 2026 World Cup matches away from Massachusetts.
Trump said on Tuesday he would not let games be played in “unsafe conditions”, before suggesting he could have them taken away from Boston through his relationship with Fifa president Gianni Infantino, saying Boston’s mayor “is not good”.
On local podcast ‘Java with Jimmy’, Wu pushed back and accused the president of trying to use intimidation tactics.
“Much of it is locked down by contract so that no single person, even if they live in the White House currently, can undo it,” Wu said.
“We’re in a world where for drama, for control, for pushing the boundaries … ongoing threats … are issued to individuals and communities who refuse to back down and comply or be obedient to a hateful agenda.
“We are going to continue to be who we are and that means, unfortunately, we are going to be in a conversation in a way that is targeting Boston’s values. Ten toes down for Boston.”
Trump made the comments in line with questions directed to him about recent unrest in Boston, including reports of vandalism and a police vehicle being set on fire.
“If someone is doing a bad job, and I feel there’s unsafe conditions, I would call Gianni, the head of Fifa, who is phenomenal, and say let’s move it to another location,” Trump said.
“And he would do that. He wouldn’t love to do it, but he’d do it. Very easily, he’d do it.”
The US president has previously made the comments about other US cities, including Seattle and San Francisco, which he said were “run by radical left lunatics who don’t know what they’re doing”.
On Tuesday he also said Wu was “radical left, and they’re taking over parts of Boston”.
