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During the president’s last term, playing cards He met with Olympic organizers in Beverly Hills and pledged federal support for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

“It’s going to be a great show,” President Trump said in 2020. Organizers also joked that they would have to “remember him” in 2028.

“At least give me your seat,” he said.

In a twist, Trump will win more than just a seat. Mr. Trump could play a starring role when thousands of athletes and tourists flock to Los Angeles in four years.

The question around City Hall is what will happen to the Olympics under the Trump administration.

On the one hand, the president-elect is a well-known sports fan, owns a golf course in Rancho Palos Verdes, and likes to hang out with famous athletes. The former “Apprentice” star also loves television, and NBC has the rights to broadcast the 2028 Olympics, and he understands the importance of ratings.

At the same time, President Trump has lashed out at other countries, criticized organizers of this summer’s Paris Olympics over areas that some have deemed anti-Christian, and has even been overshadowed by the U.S. gymnastics team. Simone Biles over his comments about immigrants taking “black jobs.”

andrew zimbalistThe Smith College economist said it was difficult to guess how Trump would handle the 2028 Olympics because “everything Trump does is unpredictable.”

But Trump “loves publicity,” Zimbalist said.

“He wants to be the guy who opens and closes the Olympics,” Zimbalist predicted.

Representatives of Trump’s transition team did not respond to requests for comment.

The question of President Trump’s role in the 2028 Olympics is important. This is because cities act as financial backstops. If there is a cost overrun, the city would pay the first $270 million, the state would pay the next $270 million, and anything beyond that would be covered by the city.

Trump’s election guarantees a large presence at the Olympics.

In Los Angeles in 1984, ronald reagan According to the Olympic and Paralympic Museum’s website, he was the first U.S. president to attend an Olympic opening ceremony.

President Reagan officially “opened” the Olympics with a proclamation. As part of the celebration, a man with a jetpack flew around the Coliseum and a crowd of volunteers spelled out “Welcome” with balloons on the stadium floor.

president clinton The 1996 Olympics opened in Atlanta while he was president. George W. Bush They did something similar in Salt Lake City in 2002.

In 2018, after the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, then-President Trump and Vice President Pence welcomed athletes from the U.S. team to the White House. including some famous athletes lindsay vonn and adam rippon Absent from White House event USA Today reported.

Rippon, who is gay, said on social media in 2018 that he “will not stand with those who discriminate against people who identify as different.”

Casey Wasserman and reynold hoover A representative for the committee, who heads the committee planning the Los Angeles Olympics, sent a letter of congratulations to President Trump last week.

(Trump is also reportedly in contact with New York state.) Mayor Eric Adams. Gabby Maas, LA Mayor’s Press Secretary Karen Basssaid Friday that Bass and Trump had not spoken).

Some city hall leaders said last week they feared federal funding, including for the Olympics, could be cut off under the Trump administration, given the president-elect’s disparaging comments about California and its Democratic leadership. expressed.

Speaking to reporters in Los Angeles this week, Mr. Wasserman sought to quash any suggestion that the financing could be at risk.

“There’s a lot of things that they offer, like travel, security, transportation and logistics, that are well known and well accepted across the federal government,” Wasserman said.

“So we look forward to continuing the very good partnership we have had with all levels of the federal government,” Wasserman said.

Mr. Trump’s election could throw a curveball into the “tourism boom” that Los Angeles relies on the Olympics, he said. Victor A. Mathesonprofessor of economics at the College of the Holy Cross.

Governments usually try to increase convenience for tourists during the Olympic period. For example, Brazil significantly lowered visa requirements for tourists during the 2016 Summer Olympics, he said.

Matheson said that in one scenario, President Trump could seek to prevent some countries from participating in the Olympics, and that Trump’s “nationalist and isolationist” attitude could deter visitors. He said there was a possibility that countries dissatisfied with certain things might boycott the Olympics.

“What if there is no tourism boom because foreigners don’t feel comfortable traveling in the country?” he said. Sports fans may also decide to boycott the event.

Mass deportation plans like the one President Trump has promised could also lead to labor shortages in Los Angeles’ hotel and restaurant industries, where some illegal aliens work, Matheson said.

Matheson said the Olympics will be a “huge diplomatic opportunity” for Trump to meet with other world leaders in Los Angeles. Given Trump’s affinity for sports, he may also help secure financial subsidies for athletes.

“You can imagine a world where President Trump cares so much about the Olympics,” Matheson said.

State of play

— Bass also favors Trump: mayor Karen Bass said this week that President Biden is trying to secure federal funding for LA before he leaves office. “I’m worried about subsidies if there’s no funding,” she said, adding that “most things can be stopped.”

Bass, who spoke Wednesday at an event on homelessness downtown, also addressed President Trump’s upcoming appointments. matt gates United States Attorney General of Florida. (Gaetz resigned from Congress within hours of his nomination.)

“I know these guys,” said Bass, who spent 12 years in Congress. “I served with them, and these are strange appointments.”

Mr. Bass also sought to assure the audience that he is used to working with Republicans. “I’ve worked very well with even the most hardline MAGA people. They can be compartmentalized. So I don’t think I can’t do anything. I just have to do things differently. It’s just that you shouldn’t.”

“Sometimes deregulation is a good thing,” she said lightheartedly, referring to President Trump’s policies.

—Super adds seats: A major overhaul of Los Angeles County government would add four more members to the five-member Board of Supervisors after the passage of Measure G. Supporters argued that a larger board would be more representative of the county, which is nearly half Latino and has about 50 people. 15% are Asian.

-alias: Adolin Nazarian and councilor heather hat They won their respective LA Council races this week.

and Isabel Juradowon the city council seat kevin de leonthe majority of parliament will be women. That’s quite a feat for a group of city councilors. Laura Chick In 1995, it was called “the most sexist, old-school work environment I’ve ever worked in.”

—Lyrics explanation: Jurado explained to Times columnist Gustavo Arellano the musical origin of the “Police, I Think” comment. The comment, which she made in response to a question about police funding, drew criticism late in the City Council race. It was “garbled lyrics by NWA, Kanye West and Rage Against the Machine,” she told Arellano.

—What? : City attorneys and politicians at City Hall have accused the Stop Loss LAPD Spy Coalition of endangering LAPD officers by releasing photos of them. But now, as the city defends itself in a lawsuit brought by police, a new controversy is emerging. “Among these more than 900 Doe Plaintiffs, not a single one is currently a bona fide full-time ‘secret agent,'” city attorneys argued in court documents this week.

quick hit

• Where is Inside Safe? The mayor’s program to combat homelessness was implemented at 1st and Spring Streets and 51st Street and Grand Avenue.

• Next week’s record: The City Council is scheduled to consider a “sanctuary city” law. mayor Karen Bass He will appear before the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Association on Wednesday, where he will address “difficult questions,” the group said. Website.