Republican Ohio Representative Jim Jordan expressed being on board with conservatives lobbying for the 2028 Olympics to be removed from the planned hosting city of Los Angeles to a "red city."
Many conservatives cited Southern California's alleged mismanagement of the active wildfire crisis still plaguing much of the area due to dry vegetation and powerful wind gusts that spread the blazes, devastating nearly 40,000 acres and destroying 12,000 structures.
Despite the call for the Olympics to move to a more Republican-led state, incoming president-elect Donald Trump assured Casey Wasserman, LA28's president and chairman, that he was going to be "supportive in every way possible" for the Olympics to remain in Los Angeles as scheduled.
However, Jordan was adamant a conservative state should host the Summer Games instead.
During a recent Newsmax broadcast, host Rob Finnerty started the segment featuring Jordan and commented:
“I’m wondering if you think the Trump administration should seriously look at moving the Olympics to a red city where you know things are gonna be run properly, like a city in Florida, maybe Miami, or maybe Dallas in Texas, or maybe a city in your home state of Ohio."
Finnerty added:
"I’m not convinced that California can manage the Olympics, the World Cup, and the Superbowl, all within a year of each other."
The incumbent Senator agreed with the host and said:
“Yeah, especially when they’re spending time quote ‘Trump-proofing’ their state, looking for ways to set up barriers and obstacles to what the American people elected us to do, particularly, I think, when it comes to this whole immigration and repatriation issue.”
He continued:
“So we’ll see. I’ll leave that up to President Trump and his team."
“But I do think the American people rightly see how poorly that state is being run," added the Congressman.
You can see a clip here.
Social media users shared their thoughts, starting with Finnerty being fact-checked about his list of red cities.
Users reminded Jordan the decision wasn't up to him but rather the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
According to a release from his first term, Trump told leaders from the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Committee:
“From the day I took office, I’ve done everything in my power to make sure that LA achieved the winning bid."
"Now, for the third time in history, the city of Los Angeles—the ‘City of Angels’—will once again raise up the Olympic Torch and welcome the world’s greatest competitors to the Summer Games."
Following the devastation of the LA wildfires, Trump pledged to make the Olympics in L.A. "the greatest games" in a meeting with L.A. Olympics organizers held at his Mar-a-Lago estate, according to Axios.
"These are America’s Olympics. These are more important than ever to L.A.," he told LA28 Chairman, Casey Wasserman.
Wasserman said he appreciated Trump for his planned L.A. visit after he's sworn in on Monday to see the devastated areas from the wildfires.
Said Wasserman:
"As a lifelong Angeleno, I shared our sentiments for President-elect Trump's continued support in Los Angeles amid the devastation in our region."
That hasn't stopped conservative firebrands like far-right political commentator Charlie Kirk from continuing to slam political leadership in California to argue L.A. would not be equipped to handle hosting the Olympics.
"What if there's a fire during the Olympics?" Kirk posed, adding, "We're hearing reports that Chilean gangs are setting fires and we're supposed to set the Olympics?"
If the 2028 Games remain on track for playing out in L.A. as Trump promised, Southern California would be expected to benefit economically, generating an additional 112,000 jobs and $18 billion in growth.
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