It could be an empty threat and more blowhard BS from President Donald Trump, or it could be something he'll actually try. But Trump mentioned on Thursday that he might want to move next year's World Cup matches out of cities that are "even a little bit dangerous."

Locally, there are six World Cup matches scheduled to be played at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara next June and July. And while Santa Clara is 45 miles south of San Francisco — which is not a dangerous city by any rational marker but which Trump continues to paint as a crime-ridden hellscape — it may not matter because it's the SF Bay Area and it's where the 49ers play and nobody who doesn't live here cares about the geography.

Trump made his remarks during one of his Oval Office gabfests on Thursday — he no longer stands at podiums to speak to the press, and prefers talking while seated in a chair or at the Resolute desk these days. And as the Mercury News reports, the president said, speaking like he had some control over FIFA, that if any host city "is going to be even a little bit dangerous for the World Cup... we won't allow it... If I think it’s not safe, we’re going to move it out."

Trump was asked specifically about San Francisco and Seattle, and like he always does, he said the cities were "run by radical left lunatics who don’t know what they’re doing."

Santa Clara is on the list of host cities, along with Los Angeles, Seattle, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Atlanta, Miami, Boston, Philadelphia, and East Rutherford, NJ.

Obviously Trump does not have control over decisions made by FIFA, and the people planning the World Cup certainly don't want the American president starting to meddle in those plans at this stage.

Also, apart from places that are run by Republicans who he likes, it's not really clear what cities Trump believes are safe at this point, outside of West Palm Beach, Florida, where he was almost shot last year.

More unrealistically, the 2028 Olympic Games, set to happen in Los Angeles, came into the conversation, and Trump made some vague statement like, "we’ll move it around a little bit. But I, I hope that’s not going to happen."

So, it's probably just idle talk! Of which he does a lot. But you can't be sure anymore which of his threats he might follow through on.

Meanwhile, the presale lottery has closed for Visa cardholders to potentially purchase World Cup tickets, and registration for the general public lottery, actually called Early Ticket Draw, will begin October 27. A third ticket phase begins in December.

Previously: 2026 World Cup Matches Scheduled at Levi's Stadium, None Are In Final Rounds

Photo by Michael Vadon/Wikimedia