To be clear, as POTUS, in spite of more loud threats and harangues lately, Donald Trump does not have the legal authority to unilaterally cancel or move the 2028 Olympics now scheduled to occur in Los Angeles. Only the IOC (the International Olympic Committee) or the city of Los Angeles itself can cancel the current Olympics contract with Los Angeles.
That does not, however, mean Trump, as a particularly petty kind of fellow, won’t try to snatch the Olympics from Los Angeles anyway, as he just aggressively announced yet again (this week) that he intended to do so. Of course, doing that would surely only mean a nasty court battle that would stain the integrity of the Olympics and ultimately cause them to be canceled for 2028. It would not be the first time the Olympics have been canceled, but it would be the first time not based on a seminal world event like a world war.
Historically, the decision to hold the Olympic Games has only resulted in three cancellations. All three cancellations were due to the world at war at the time. In 1916, the Summer Olympics—scheduled for Berlin— were canceled because of World War I, and both the 1940 and 1944 Olympics (both Summer and Winter)—scheduled for Helsinki and London — were canceled because of events connected to World War II.
Whatever he says, Trump can’t take the Olympics away from L.A. What he can do, however, is what spoiled children and adults regularly do: just muck everything up when they can’t get their way.
As mentioned in a previous column, in August 2025, Trump signed an executive order creating a White House task force to oversee the 2028 Games, with himself as chair. The task force will supposedly be responsible for coordinating federal support for the Games in terms of security, transportation, and visa processing activities. Clearly, Trump can refuse to honor getting those tasks done efficiently, thereby creating real problems for conducting the Games in a professional manner. In other words, he can act like a spoiled brat on the world stage—as he has already done several times in the short period of both his first presidency and the current one.
This coming weekend promises to be a major turning point in the current Trump administration. Massive public displays and protests against the current Trump presidency have been announced. Trump may sic federal troops on Americans exercising their fundamental rights to protest the government. It could be a real turning point early in Trump’s second and most disruptive term. The Olympics issue could be sidelined completely. Let’s see.
Professor David L. Horne is founder and executive director of PAPPEI, the Pan African Public Policy and Ethical Institute, which is a new 501(c)(3) pending community-based organization or non-governmental organization (NGO). It is the stepparent organization for the California Black Think Tank which still operates and which meets every fourth Friday.
