Comment: Brace yourself for Trump’s L.A. ‘MAGAlympics’ in 2028

Published 1:30 am Tuesday, August 19, 2025

By Erika D. Smith / Bloomberg Opinion

Los Angeles has been busily preparing to host the Summer Olympics and Paralympics three years from now, a process that will require billions of dollars in private and public investment. But there are new uncertainties, now that President Donald Trump has signed an executive order making himself chair of the task force charged with handling security, transportation and coordination with state and local officials for the Games.

There are questions about how exactly the back-to-back megaevents will come together; and under whose authority. How expansive will Trump’s role be? Will he send in National Guard troops to patrol the streets, scaring tourists and residents alike? Will there be daily federal immigration raids, with masked agents operating with impunity? How much gilded golden trim will adorn the opening ceremonies?

In short, will Trump, an avid fan of both sports and being the center of attention, meddle so much that he turns the Games from a source of national pride to a polarizing, MAGA-fied spectacle?

He’s tried to do this before, after all. By appointing himself chair of the Kennedy Center Honors, Trump was able to keep out supposedly “woke” artists, in favor of some of his personal favorites. Before that, there was the parade celebrating the 250th birthday of the U.S. Army, which happened to fall on his birthday. Fears that he’ll do something similar to the Olympics have been quietly building for months in Los Angeles. It’s only recently, with Trump’s executive order, that they’ve exploded into public view.

The White House hasn’t elaborated on what exactly Trump plans to do in his self-appointed task force role. But at a recent event, Imelda Padilla, a member of the Los Angeles City Council who sits on a commission for the Olympics, admitted that many are a “little nervous” about the president’s plans for security.

With good reason. The Games have been designated as a “National Special Security Event,” which will give numerous federal law enforcement agencies, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement, broad latitude to operate in and around L.A. Trump has already pushed the boundaries of presidential authority with the heavy-handed federal immigration raids that have roiled California for months.

While it’s typical for the federal government to create a task force for the Games, in part because no host city can pull off an Olympics and a Paralympics without the federal government’s financial or operational help, previous presidents have opted to serve in a more ceremonial capacity.

Not Trump. He announced he’d assume the role of chair at a press conference, flanked by massive banners inscribed with the logo for the LA28 Games and the presidential seal — connected by a “plus” sign — making clear these will be “Trump’s Olympics.”

He also named Vice President J.D. Vance as vice chair of the task force; a notable choice given that 2028 is an election year and Vance will likely be running for president to carry on the MAGA legacy. Most of the members of Trump’s Cabinet who were deeply involved in the immigration crackdown on L.A. are on the task force too, including Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller.

What’s more, Trump has been unabashed about saying he might redeploy troops in L.A. “We’ll do anything necessary to keep the Olympics safe, including using our National Guard or military, OK?” he told reporters. “I will use the National Guard or the military. This is going to be so safe.”

Coming from Trump, “safe” is often a pretext for unwanted federal action. After all, in the name of keeping Washington, D.C. “safe” from violent crime — which is at its lowest point in 30 years — hundreds of National Guard troops have been deployed across the city at Trump’s behest.

Like many Angelenos, I worry that that in the lead up to the Games, Trump is likely to seize upon other pretexts to impose his will on L.A. too. He alluded to some of them in his press conference last week, including the struggle to rebuild after the January fires that destroyed multiple neighborhoods. Taking a dig at Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass over it, Trump called her “not very competent.”

Also at issue is a battle brewing at the ballot box between the business community and labor unions that could make it much harder or, at the very least, far more expensive to build the new stadiums and meeting centers that will be needed for the Games.

Which brings me to what is perhaps L.A.’s biggest vulnerability: it’s broke. The city just laid off hundreds of employees and cut services to close a nearly $1 billion deficit. It faces years of paying for the fires, with limited disaster funding coming from the federal government.

LA28, the organizer that has promised to deliver Games that are privately funded, with $7.1 billion coming from sponsorships (including corporate naming rights), ticket sales and hospitality revenue, says it’s on track. And Congress has already approved $1 billion for the Olympics through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. But for any unexpected costs, including the first $270 million in debt it has agreed to pay if LA28 goes over budget (as most megaevents do), Los Angeles will likely have to turn to the federal government; and to Trump.

That could provide a convenient excuse for the president to get more involved in planning as chair of the Olympics task force, Jules Boykoff, a professor at Oregon’s Pacific University who has written several books on the politics of the Games, told me.

“The Los Angeles Olympics are at the mercy of the Trump administration,” he said. That’s not a good place to be.

Indeed, the Games are multibillion-dollar exhibitions of athleticism and grit, and represent the best of humanity. But they are not — and should not be — a celebration of one man or one political party.

Erika D. Smith is a politics and policy columnist for Bloomberg Opinion. She is a former Los Angeles Times columnist and Sacramento Bee editorial board member.