Trump calls Seattle Mayor-elect 'another beauty,' suggests World Cup games could be moved
by KOMO News StaffMon, November 17, 2025 at 1:32 PM
Updated Mon, November 17, 2025 at 5:12 PM

SEATTLE — FIFA President Gianni Infantino and U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled an expedited visa process for World Cup ticket holders seeking entry into the United States, while the President made a veiled threat to Seattle as well. Seattle is among the cities slated to host the 2026 World Cup, with six games planned.
During the announcement, Trump spoke about Seattle's new Democratic mayor-elect, Katie Wilson, and whether her agenda and the city's existing crime issues could impact its ability to host the games. Despite Infantino's reassurances, President Trump expressed concerns about potential issues in "liberal" cities, stating that if there is a "problem," he might consider relocating World Cup events from Seattle. If we think there's a problem in Seattle, where we have a very, very liberal-slash-communist mayor, certainly beyond just liberal.... I watched her over the weekend... wow, that's another beauty we got there. But if we think there's gonna be another problem, we're gonna move this event to another place where it's going to be appreciated and safe," Trump said. President Trump then redirected the question to Infantino did not directly answer, but said safety and security were FIFA's number one priority and noted that early ticket sales indicate fans are not currently concerned about it.

FIFA has contracts with 11 American cities and venues to host the games. The Trump administration has allocated $625 million to those cities for security and recently pledged to provide $500 million more for counter-drone defenses. Infantino toured Seattle and the Sounders' Renton facility in October of 2024 and sang the praises of the facilities. FIFA also held multiple Club World Cup matches at Lumen Field this past summer, with no significant complaints. The Seattle World Cup Organizing Committee said on Monday it was business as usual in planning for the event, noting that it had team members in DC last week. "We are working lockstep with the White House Task Force. We're working at every level of government, local, state, national, even international, on the border, to make sure this event comes off as the best event ever. And so we're super pleased with how it's all going," said Seattle World Cup Organizing Committee President Peter Tomozawa, who added that Wilson had pre-emptively reached out to his group to get more information and offer her excitement over hosting the global games.
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