{"id":95797,"date":"2020-02-19T21:19:40","date_gmt":"2020-02-20T05:19:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/69.46.6.243\/?p=95797"},"modified":"2020-02-19T21:19:40","modified_gmt":"2020-02-20T05:19:40","slug":"president-trump-at-briefing-with-u-s-olympic-committee-la-2028-organizers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/?p=95797","title":{"rendered":"President Trump at Briefing with U.S. Olympic Committee &#038; LA 2028 Organizers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Beverly Hills, CA&#8230;Well, thank you very much.  It\u2019s a great pleasure to meet with the leaders of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Committee.  They\u2019ve done a fantastic job in bringing the Olympics here.  They called me when I was President-elect.  Casey, that was quite a call.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/tpfCkO90d70\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>MR. WASSERMAN:  Yes, sir.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  And they asked me if I could get involved because the other administration refused to call the Olympic Committee, which is the one in \u2014 the people that make the decision.  So it was a little hard for them to make a decision.<\/p>\n<p>And I did make the call, and \u2014 it was a very long call.  They were starving for love, and we gave them the love.  And, Casey, you and everybody else have done a fantastic job.  We got the Olympics to come to Los Angeles.  And that was a big moment, and we knew it right away.<\/p>\n<p>They really \u2014 they were fantastic people that I dealt with.  But because of your dedication and hard work, the United States will once again proudly host the Olympic Games.  How exciting is that?<\/p>\n<p>I want to thank the CEO of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, Sarah Hirshland.  Thank you very much.  Fantastic job.<\/p>\n<p>MS. HIRSHLAND:  Thank you, Mr. President.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  As well as all the terrific leadership of the LA 2028, Executive Chairperson Casey Wasserman.  And, Casey, really a fantastic job right from the beginning.<\/p>\n<p>MR. WASSERMAN:  Thank you.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  You were there right at the beginning.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>The Chief Operating Officer, John Harper, and also Danny Koblin.  Thank you very much, fellas.  Great, great job.  Appreciate it.<\/p>\n<p>And Senior Advisors Dean Christopher and Doug Arnot.  We\u2019re grateful.  Thank you, fellas, very much.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re grateful to be joined by Secretary Mnuchin, Acting Secretary Wolf, Leader Kevin McCarthy, who has been incredible in so many different ways.  The job he\u2019s done is just outstanding.  He\u2019ll soon be Speaker of the House and we look forward to that.  I\u2019m quite sure about that.  I don\u2019t know, the odds are probably about 35 to 40 percent.  I would say 80 to 90 percent.  Where is Kevin?  Congratulations.<\/p>\n<p>LEADER MCCARTHY:  Right here.  Thank you, sir.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Although, let me congratulate you after the fact.  (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>And also a friend of mine and tremendous guy and a great senator, somebody who loves our country dearly: Senator Lindsey Graham.  Thank you, Lindsey, for coming.<\/p>\n<p>SENATOR GRAHAM:  Thank you, Mr. President.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  I appreciate it.<\/p>\n<p>From the day I took office, I\u2019ve 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 \u2014 the \u201cCity of Angels\u201d \u2014 will once again raise up the Olympic Torch and welcome the world\u2019s greatest competitors to the Summer Games.  How exciting.<\/p>\n<p>The United States has won more Olympic medals than any other nation.  That\u2019s good.  By far?  By a lot?  Or just by a little tiny bit?<\/p>\n<p>MS. HIRSHLAND:  By plenty, sir.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  By a lot.  (Laughter.)  That\u2019s good.  And let\u2019s keep it that way.<\/p>\n<p>And we\u2019ll never stop our relentless pursuit of excellence.  I\u2019m confident that Team USA will build on the winning tradition in Tokyo later this year and in Paris in 2024, and then in Los Angeles in 2028.  I hope you remember me in 2028.  Okay?  Do you promise, Casey?  Or will you \u2014<\/p>\n<p>MR. WASSERMAN:  I promise, sir.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  At least give me a seat, okay?<\/p>\n<p>MR. WASSERMAN:  Guaranteed.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  If you don\u2019t mind.  (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  These games will also be a major economic victory.  The 2028 Olympics will create 112,000 jobs and add $18 billion to our economy, at least, including $7 billion in wages for American workers.<\/p>\n<p>The LA Olympic Committee is accomplishing all of this at no cost to the American taxpayer.  They\u2019ve raised a lot of money and they\u2019re utilizing stadiums that are world class, that are already built.  Something nice about not having to build a lot of things.  But they\u2019re doing a fantastic job.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ll now sign a document pledging the federal government\u2019s total support of LA in hosting the 2028 Olympics.  And as soon as I sign, I\u2019m going to ask Chad Wolf to say a few words.  He\u2019s done a fantastic job as head of Homeland Security.  So we\u2019re going to sign this right now.<\/p>\n<p>And this is a big deal, isn\u2019t it?  Huh?<\/p>\n<p>MR. WASSERMAN:  Yes, sir.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  It\u2019s a big deal.<\/p>\n<p>(The document is signed.)<\/p>\n<p>So because you were here right at the beginning when I made that very important call, I think you should get that, right?  What do you think, Sarah?  Don\u2019t you agree?<\/p>\n<p>MR. WASSERMAN:  I appreciate it.<\/p>\n<p>MS. HIRSHLAND:  Wonderful.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Good.  Let\u2019s go.  Let\u2019s get this out here.  Thank you very much.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>Thank you very much.  Thank you very much.  Congratulations, Casey.<\/p>\n<p>MR. WASSERMAN:  Thank you, sir.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Please, Chad.<\/p>\n<p>ACTING SECRETARY WOLF:  Thank you.  Well, thank you, Mr. President.  It\u2019s an honor to join you before the committee as you pledge the federal government\u2019s support for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n<p>To echo the words of the President in this year\u2019s State of the Union, \u201cAmerica\u2019s future is blazing bright.\u201d  And thanks to the work of President Trump and this committee, America will be blazed especially bright in 2028 when the Olympic Torch will be lit here again in the United States.<\/p>\n<p>Planning and preparations are ready \u2014 are already underway to execute the event with flawless precision.  But to be successful, the Olympics must be secured.  So the Department of Homeland Security and our federal partners stand ready to protect the 2028 Olympics.<\/p>\n<p>The Department is no stranger to big events.  DHS has helped secure every Super Bowl, every Presidential Inauguration, and every State of the Union since our Department\u2019s inception, as well as the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.<\/p>\n<p>Time and time again, the Department leads the federal response to large, complex, and challenging events.  So rest assured that the department will be engaged on every front to ensure that the homeland, our people, and the Olympic athletes and fans are secure.<\/p>\n<p>And when I do say \u201cevery front,\u201d I really do mean that:  from cybersecurity, to counterterrorism, to immigration, to protection of international and national leaders, economic security, aviation security, and much, much more.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ll provide the best expertise and resources that the Department has to offer to make the 2028 Olympics as safe as possible.<\/p>\n<p>So on behalf of the Department, we look forward to working with you in the week, months, and years to come, and of course, cheering on Team USA right here in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n<p>So thank you to the committee.  And thank you, Mr. President.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Great job.  Thank you very much, Chad.  I appreciate it.<\/p>\n<p>Casey, would you like to say a few words, please?<\/p>\n<p>MR. WASSERMAN:  Sure, Mr. President.<\/p>\n<p>Well, I want to thank you for formalizing the commitment of the federal government.  Your leadership from the beginning has been instrumental in us achieving this goal of bringing the Games back to the United States.  This is the third time for Los Angles, as you mentioned.  And our goal is to create a safe, successful, and secure Olympic Games, and that\u2019s not possible without the support you and the federal government have provided us.<\/p>\n<p>I promise you we\u2019ll remember you in 2028, to say the least, because it wouldn\u2019t have happened without you.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.<\/p>\n<p>MR. WASSERMAN:  And so we greatly appreciate it.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.<\/p>\n<p>MR. WASSERMAN:  And we want to give Team USA and our partners at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee the greatest home field advantage they\u2019ve ever had.  And we intend to do that in Los Angles.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Good.  Thank you very much.<\/p>\n<p>MR. WASSERMAN:  Thank you.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Sarah, please.<\/p>\n<p>MS. HIRSHLAND:  Wonderful.  Thank you.  Hello.  And I\u2019m here.  We\u2019re excited to be here.  We\u2019re grateful for your support.  We will take a large delegation to Tokyo this summer as we continue our quest on behalf of Team USA and the support of the federal government.  And the safety and security of our delegation in Tokyo this summer is also of utmost importance.<\/p>\n<p>This administration and the federal government overall has been enormously helpful to us.  We feel incredibly confident both in the performance of our team and that we\u2019ll make this country proud, but also in the safety and security of our delegation.  And we thank you for that, sir.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Well, thank you.  And good luck in the upcoming event.<\/p>\n<p>MS. HIRSHLAND:  Thank you.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  That will be very exciting.<\/p>\n<p>Lindsey, would you like to say a few words?<\/p>\n<p>SENATOR GRAHAM:  Well, the Olympics brings the world together, and I\u2019m looking forward, God willing, to watch.  (Laughter.)  And I don\u2019t think I\u2019ll be participating, but I\u2019ll be watching.  But you never know.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  You never know.  With Lindsey, you never know.<\/p>\n<p>SENATOR GRAHAM:  I got my golf game (inaudible).<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  You never know.  Thanks, Lindsey.<\/p>\n<p>And, Kevin, you love this state a lot.<\/p>\n<p>LEADER MCCARTHY:  I love this state a lot.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  And I think it\u2019s very important that you say something.  Please.<\/p>\n<p>LEADER MCCARTHY:  Well, I want to thank the whole committee and I want to thank Casey.  You guys have big shoes to fill.  What Peter Ueberroth was able to pull off the last time the Olympics was in LA, everybody was so proud.<\/p>\n<p>I feel very honored that the President \u2014 he has a long history with the Olympics, even when I look in here and I see a picture of you carrying the torch.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  That\u2019s true, actually.  Yeah.  (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>LEADER MCCARTHY:  One thing I know is we\u2019re going to be prepared, and once again, we\u2019ll have the best athletes and the best event.  And I think it\u2019ll be a tremendous experience for the whole world to see, why America has really come back.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  That\u2019s great.  Fellas, would you like to say something?  You\u2019ve been very instrumental.  We appreciate it.  Would you like to say something?<\/p>\n<p>MR. HARPER:  Just on behalf of the organizing committee, we\u2019re so excited for this fascinating journey that we\u2019re on, and we can\u2019t wait to get to 2028.  And thank you again for all the support.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Good.  It\u2019ll be fantastic.  It\u2019ll be really fantastic.<\/p>\n<p>MR. ARNOT:  We are very grateful for the support, Mr. President.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.<\/p>\n<p>MR. ARNOT:  And I was really happy to hear the Secretary\u2019s comments about safety and security.  That is our primary interest, and we look forward to working with you.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Right.  We\u2019re going to give it the A-plus effort and we will do a great job.<\/p>\n<p>Please.<\/p>\n<p>MR. KOBLIN:  I\u2019m a lifelong Angeleno.  And to see the Games come back here for the third time \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Exciting.<\/p>\n<p>MR. KOBLIN:  \u2014 is a dream come true.  So thank you for the opportunity.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you very much.<\/p>\n<p>MR. CHRISTOPHER:  Looking forward to it in the next eight years.  It\u2019s going to be great.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  Well, we\u2019re all going to do a great job.  And we appreciate it, and we appreciate your work.  Not easy.  Right?  Not easy at all.<\/p>\n<p>Thank you all very much.  Very exciting.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Mr. President, will you go to Tokyo this summer?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  I might.  We were invited.  I was invited by Prime Minister Abe, and we\u2019ll make that determination.  We haven\u2019t made it yet, but we might.  We\u2019re going to try, if we can.  Thank you.<\/p>\n<p>Q    How do we clean up LA\u2019s homeless situation before these Games?  And what do you see as the federal government\u2019s role in doing that?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Well, we had no role, but we\u2019re really taking a role in it.  I see it.  I see what\u2019s happening to LA.  I see what\u2019s happening to San Francisco.  I see what\u2019s happening to some great cities.  And I\u2019ve said to my people: Whether they like it not, we\u2019re going to have to do something.<\/p>\n<p>So we\u2019re, right now, working in LA.  They\u2019re also contacting San Francisco.  They have to clean it up.  You have needles.  You have things that we don\u2019t want to discuss all over the streets, flowing into the oceans.  And you have beaches, and it shouldn\u2019t happen.  And if they can\u2019t do it themselves, we\u2019re going to do it.  The federal government is going to take it over and we\u2019re going to do it.<\/p>\n<p>So we\u2019re working right now with LA in particular, I would say, and the others are also sort of wanting to work along with us.  But it\u2019s \u2014 it\u2019s not thinkable what they\u2019ve allowed to happen to these cities.  Incredible.<\/p>\n<p>Q    What\u2019s your message to those that are resisting in terms of immigration policy in this state, especially talking about security going forward towards the Games?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Well, I think it\u2019s terrible.  I think sanctuary cities, as you know, are very dangerous.  You just look at some of the horrific crimes that are committed.  That wouldn\u2019t happen if you didn\u2019t have sanctuary for criminals.<\/p>\n<p>And with LA, San Francisco, and other places \u2014 but they have one thing in common: the leadership.  There\u2019s no reason that this should have ever happened \u2014 our greatest cities.  And number one, you look at the homeless and how horrible a situation that is.  But also, look what it\u2019s doing to your cities.  It\u2019s so disgraceful.  These are cities that 10 years ago were the most beautiful cities, and now people walk away and leave, and they just say horrible things.  Can\u2019t let that happen.<\/p>\n<p>So if they don\u2019t get it cleaned up fast, we\u2019re going to come in and do it.<\/p>\n<p>Q    You\u2019re such a master at TV production.  What would your advice be to these guys in terms of putting on a good show for the world, for America?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Well, I think with Casey and with Sarah and all of the people, I think they\u2019re going to do a great show.  And with Chad and \u2014 you know, Steve lives in this town.  Steve Mnuchin, the Secretary of Treasury, he lives here.<\/p>\n<p>And everybody is going to be working on it very hard.  We\u2019re going to \u2014 you know we\u2019re starting working now.  It\u2019s a long time; it\u2019s eight years.  But we\u2019re really starting right now.  And it\u2019s going to be a fantastic show.  It\u2019ll be \u2014 I really believe it has a chance to be the best.<\/p>\n<p>And the Olympic Committee really wanted to come here.  They just wanted some support, and they were not getting it at all from the past administration.  We\u2019re going to give them tremendous support.  You need the support of the federal government to make it really work.  And we have it.  It\u2019s going to be a fantastic Olympics.<\/p>\n<p>Okay?  Thank you all very much.<\/p>\n<p>END<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Beverly Hills, CA&#8230;Well, thank you very much. It\u2019s a great pleasure to meet with the leaders of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Committee. They\u2019ve done a fantastic job in bringing the Olympics here. They called me when I was President-elect. Casey, that was quite a call. MR. WASSERMAN: Yes, sir. THE PRESIDENT: And they asked [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":95799,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,5,1,28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-95797","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-government","category-news","category-sports","last_archivepost"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Fullscreen-capture-2192020-91720-PM.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95797","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=95797"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95797\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/95799"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=95797"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=95797"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=95797"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}