President Trump on Tuesday pledged the federal government’s full support to Los Angeles in hosting the 2028 Summer Olympics, even as he chided the city for its homeless population.
Trump attended a briefing in Beverly Hills with the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee tasked with organizing the 2028 games, where he signed a document offering federal support to the city. He was joined by several federal officials, including acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf.
“Planning and preparation are already underway to execute the event with flawless precision, but to be successful the Olympics must be secure,” Wolf said, vowing the Department of Homeland Security would provide resources to help protect the event.
Trump, who landed earlier Tuesday in California for the first of a multiday swing out west, touted the economic boost the region will receive from hosting the games.
“I hope you remember me in 2028,” he joked, asking the committee chairman to “at least give me a seat” at the quadrennial event.
Tokyo is hosting the 2020 Summer Olympics. Trump said he received an invitation to attend from Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, but had yet to decide whether to accept. Paris will then host the 2024 games, followed by Los Angeles four years later.
Trump advocated for Los Angeles to get the games in 2017, but the president has been an ardent critic of Los Angeles and California as a whole, bemoaning the homeless populations in major cities and condemning Democratic leaders for supporting sanctuary policies that protect immigrants.
Trump has previously suggested the federal government would get involved in addressing the homelessness issue, but has yet to roll out any specifics.
“We’re really taking a role in it,” he told reporters Tuesday. “I see it. I see what’s happening to L.A., I see what’s happening to San Francisco, I see what’s happening to some great cities, and I’ve said to my people whether they like it or not, we’re going to have to do something.”