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Boston's mayor, Mayor Wu, implied that the city was prepared for a face-off with US President Donald Trump concerning his assertion that he could instruct FIFA to remove World Cup tournament matches from the stadium in Foxborough, located 22 miles southwest of Boston.

Wu spoke on a Boston-based podcast recently to address criticism from the White House, which had described her as "far-left." Trump had warned that he would contact the head of FIFA if Boston did not "address its issues."

A great deal of it is secured by contract so that no single person, even the president, can reverse it.

She continued, "We're in a world where for attention, for power, for pushing the boundaries ... repeated warnings ... are directed at people and cities who refuse to back down and submit or be obedient to a divisive plan."

She further stated, "We will keep being ourselves, and that means, unfortunately, we are going to be in a conversation that is targeting Boston's values." She concluded by emphasizing her support for the city, declaring, "Ten toes down for Boston."

The President's Comments and FIFA Involvement

Recently, FIFA President Gianni Infantino was photographed with Trump at the Gaza summit in Egypt. The FIFA president has also been to the White House and given World Cup tournament and Club World Cup awards to the president as gifts.

Earlier, President Trump was asked about recent disturbances in a Boston neighborhood that involved a police vehicle being set on fire. Trump replied, "If somebody is doing a bad job, and if I feel there's unsafe conditions, I would call Infantino – the head of FIFA, who's great."

He added, "I would say: 'Let's move into another location' and they would comply. He might not prefer it. But he would do it without hesitation." Trump also directly criticized Mayor Wu, stating, "Their mayor is ineffective ... she's far-left, and they're dominating parts of Boston. That's a strong claim, right?"

Previous Warnings and Upcoming Tournament Information

President Trump has made previous comments that he would take the same conversation with the FIFA president about relocating matches from Seattle and San Francisco, which are part of the 16 locations across the continent.

The US is co-hosting the 2026 tournament with neighboring countries. The expanded tournament is planned to be played from 11 June to July 19 next summer.