Trump Suggests He Could Use the Military to Keep the L.A. Olympics ‘Safe’

The Washington Post

16:55 JST, August 6, 2025

President Donald Trump said he would consider using the military at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics to keep them “safe,” though he did not specify a plan for doing so.

Trump made the remark while announcing an executive order forming a White House task force to oversee preparation for the Games. The task force – which will be chaired by Trump and is filled with administration officials, including Vice President JD Vance, Attorney General Pam Bondi and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem – is meant to empower government agencies to ensure what Trump called a “safe and seamless” L.A. Olympics. It is unclear how closely the task force plans to work with state and local officials or whether it will try to bypass them and run some of the planning of the Games from the White House instead.

Trump’s comment about the military came during a question-and-answer session at an announcement for the task force and was part of a response to a query about whether he worries the L.A. Games will be safe from fires.

“We’ll do anything necessary to keep the Olympics safe, including using our National Guard or military,” he said.

It is common for host countries to have some form of military presence at the Olympics, but Trump seemed to suggest he could activate the military in a more aggressive fashion for the L.A. Games.

Trump has been enthusiastic about the L.A. Games going back to his first term. In 2017, he celebrated the International Olympic Committee’s selection of the city and signed standard host country documents that promise to abide by IOC requirements in providing visas for athletes, coaches and spectators. In the first six months of his second term, Trump has expressed excitement about the Games despite regularly attacking Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D) and California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) and deploying the National Guard and the Marines to squelch protests of his immigration policies.

LA28 and other Olympic officials have been encouraged by Trump’s declarations of support and noted administration officials have said they will not impede preparations for the Games. Trump included $1 billion for the Games in his signature policy bill; that money is expected to help fund security and transportation, but details of how it will be allocated have not been revealed.

LA28 officials are trying to hold a self-funded Olympics by planning to use only existing or temporary venues to limit construction costs, often among the biggest expenses for a Games. But Bass is also promising a mostly car-free Olympics that will rely heavily on trains and buses, adding the burden of trying to find enough vehicles to carry athletes, staff and fans.

The federal government probably will need to provide more money for security. France paid 1.4 billion euros for Olympic and Paralympic security last summer. The 2028 Games will include more athletes than the Paris Games and will be spread across Southern California, with events also being held in Oklahoma.

In June 2024, the Department of Homeland Security declared the L.A. Games a “National Special Security Event,” which made the Secret Service the lead agency for designing a security plan for the Games.