US President Donald Trump has signed off on a new White House task force to get the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles ready, promising the event will be “safe, seamless and historically successful.”
The LA Games will be the first Olympics hosted in the US since Salt Lake City’s Winter Games in 2002, and Trump says he wants to make it one for the history books.
“The LA Olympics is shaping up to be a wonderful moment for America. It’s going to be incredible. It’s so exciting,” Trump said Tuesday, flanked by LA28 chair Casey Wasserman and holding up a pair of gold medals from the 1984 Games.
He didn’t share many details about what the new task force will actually do — the executive order itself hasn’t been released yet — but White House officials say the team will handle everything from transportation and security to visa logistics.
At the launch event, Trump also praised US Olympic and Paralympic Committee chair Gene Sykes — not for anything sport-specific, but for backing a policy that bars transgender women from competing in women’s categories.
“The United States will not let men steal trophies from women at the 2028 Olympics,” Trump said, before awkwardly pausing when no one clapped. “Why aren’t people clapping?” he asked. Some applause eventually followed.
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called sports one of Trump’s “greatest passions,” and said the president considers it “a great honour” to oversee preparations for the LA Games.
Wasserman called the task force “an important step forward” in the planning effort. “It reflects our shared commitment to delivering not just the biggest, but the greatest Games the world has ever seen,” he said.
The new task force includes some of Trump’s go-to picks: Vice President JD Vance, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. They’ll be working alongside federal and local agencies to prep for a smooth and secure Olympics, and likely a media circus too.
State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said the task force will “coordinate across federal, state and local agencies” on issues like visas, transport, and security.
Trump also gave a nod to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which the US is co-hosting with Mexico and Canada. He said the tournament is another one of the global events he’s excited to “deliver in full” during his second term.
On the same day, officials from all three countries held the first meeting of a new trilateral council to coordinate security and logistics ahead of the massive football event.
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