In a recent appearance on Newsmax TV’s “Rob Schmitt Tonight,” Ric Grenell, the Presidential Envoy, expressed his concerns about Los Angeles’ readiness for the upcoming Olympics, pointing to rampant homelessness, crime, and illegal immigration. According to Grenell, he suggested to the president that the White House should aid the city in preparing for the upcoming Olympic Games.
For context, the presidential envoy stressed that Los Angeles is failing at a basic level and described it as a “mess” and unsafe. He admitted that federal aid would be difficult without approval from Mayor Karen Bass and Governor Gavin Newsom,
In any case, Ric Grenell noted that, “I actually suggested in the Oval Office today that the President move Los Angeles up a little bit more and try to make them next.” Building on that point, he noted, “I’m not so sure that Los Angeles is going to be ready for the Olympics, unless President Trump can send in some help.” –
Describing the complicated position, Grenell explained, “Look, I think we’re in a corner here because no one in Los Angeles wants to not have the Olympics. We’re very excited. We’re a world-class city with terrible leadership that has just been uncovered.”
Building on this point, he expressed that Trump does not want taxpayer dollars wasted by typical California incompetence, saying, “The Trump administration is going to have to look very closely at how [his] administration makes sure that the federal dollars are spent well.”
Slamming the far-left state, he added, “You’re going to have to not spend on these woke, crazy ideas that you have. Otherwise, you’re not going to get federal money. I don’t believe that we should continue having federal dollars fund these fake, phony programs throughout California and in Los Angeles.”
Continuing his implicit denuciation of Newsom, the presidential envoy said, “We are an amazing city, and we have literally been disappointed for decades with the political leadership,” adding, “While we are very excited to host the [2026 Summer] Olympics, many people here in Los Angeles feel like we’ve just had the Wizard of Oz moment where the curtain has been pulled back.”
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Referring to the devastating fires that devastated the state of California, Grenell stated, “You go into a room, and everyone agrees on the way forward. That’s why we see problems when it comes to homelessness and water and forestry because there’s no dissenting view in the room.”
Annoyed by the blatant corruption, he said, “When you just hand the money over to these local politicians, we locally don’t have faith in our local politicians. And so, something needs to be done by leveraging those federal dollars to demand an accounting of how those are spent, so it’s spent on the right and right programs.”
Concluding his remarks, Grenell declared, “While many of us have seen it coming for a long time, there are a lot of new people having their eyes opened, and they are very concerned that we are not ready to host the Olympics with this current crop of local organizers and state organizers.”