WASHINGTON, March 31 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters on Tuesday that the government would have to “force itself” in Los Angeles when the World Cup takes place and said he did not want any crime or problems.
“When the World Cup comes, we have to do something, we have to force them to accept it, and we have the right to do that because we don’t want any crime to happen, we don’t want any problems,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
Trump has vowed to fight crime in cities including Washington, where he has mobilized hundreds of federal agents and thousands of troops to the nation’s capital.
The Football World Cup is one of the world’s largest sporting events and will be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico in June and July this year.
Spokespeople for the mayor of Los Angeles and the governor of California did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
(Reporting by Jasper Ward; Writing by Daphne Psaledakis; Editing by Michelle Nichols, Bhargav Acharya)