Ravaged by fires, can Los Angeles be rebuilt in time to host the 2028 Olympics? What if Trumpists ultimately took advantage of the opportunity to take the event away from California Democrats?
Since January 7, 2025 and the start of the fires in Los Angeles (California), images showing the damage have gone around the world. With more than 16,000 hectares already up in smoke, reconstruction promises to be long and costly for the community. A tragedy which occurs as Los Angeles is due to host the next Olympic and Paralympic Games in the summer of 2028. Across the Atlantic, the pro-Trump did not wait for the firefighters to put out the last flames to launch the debate: is it really reasonable to let Los Angeles, and with the Californian Democrats, organize such an event?
Founder of one of the main organizations that campaigned for Republican Donald Trump and a figure of the ultra-conservatives, Charlie Kirk recently declared on X that “the Los Angeles Games should be canceled”. Attacking Democrats head-on for their handling of the fires, he said, “If you can’t fill a fire hydrant, you’re not qualified to host the Olympics,” and suggested, “Move them to Dallas or in Miami [deux villes gérées par les républicains ndlr.]so that athletes around the world can compete in a place that can build and manage something safely.” Recall that Donald Trump himself sharply attacked the Democratic mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass, for its fire management.
-“The greatest Olympic Games” in history
While the Los Angeles Olympic Games are expected to cost seven billion dollars and some 15 million visitors are expected on this occasion, beyond the Trumpists, many people point out the difficulty of carrying out such development work at the same time. at the same time that part of the city must be completely rebuilt, hundreds of buildings having disappeared in the flames, notes franceinfo.
Furthermore, if the 80 Olympic sites escaped the flames this time, the specialists are clear: with global warming and the drought recorded locally, such fires are destined to recur. Maybe even during the 2028 Olympics… Enough to make the competition an “uninsurable mega-event”? This is in any case one of the fears of economics professor Simon Chadwick raised in the British daily The Paper. So, should we review the event so that it can respond to a potential catastrophe, even if it means considering a minimalist version? For Donald Trump, it’s a big “No”. Questioned again on Wednesday by the news site Axios, the man who is about to return to his bed at the White House is categorical: he wants “the greatest Olympic Games” in History.
