A top International Olympic Committee executive expressed confidence about overcoming any concerns about President Donald Trump’s trade and travel policies ahead of the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles.
But Christophe Dubi, the Switzerland-based IOC’s Olympic Games executive director, had little else to say about Trump’s new tariffs, which were partially paused Wednesday amid financial fallout over fears of a global trade war, or his proposed travel restrictions.
Although the policies could have a big impact on international sporting events in the United States, Dubi said they weren’t discussed during Wednesday’s closed IOC Executive Board meeting that included the organization’s new president-elect, Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe.
Neither Coventry nor outgoing IOC President Thomas Bach attended the virtual press briefing held after the meeting. Coventry, however, had previously made it clear she expects to be able to handle Trump, who is also calling on the IOC to bar transgender competitors.
“I have been dealing with, let’s say, difficult men in high positions since I was 20 years old,” Coventry told reporters shortly after her election in March. “First and foremost, what I have learned is that communication will be key. That is something that will happen early on.”
Dubi said Wednesday it’s too soon to talk specifics about the U.S. administration’s policies.
“I think we cannot speculate at this stage,” he said during a virtual news conference, adding that Olympic organizing committees, along with “the sport movement in general, are constantly facing evolving circumstances.”
“Being 10 years out or two, you might face anything. We have to be confident,” Dubi said, citing what he called “the good work being done between LA28 and the administration in Washington. ... This is what we build upon.”
What’s important, he said, is understanding “what the conditions are” so the Olympics can adapt.
“To do this, it takes strong partnerships between the organizing committee and the public authorities. We’ve done this in France, including some difficult situations,” Dubi said without offering specifics about what those were for the 2024 Summer Games in Paris.
“We found very good solutions with the government and the same will be done in the future,” he said, including in Italy for next year’s Winter Games in Milan-Cortina and in the United States, where L.A. isn’t the only upcoming host — Utah is the site of the 2034 Winter Games.
Last month, the chairman of the L.A.’s Olympic organizing committee, Casey Wasserman, assured IOC members “irrespective of politics today, America will be open and accepting to all 209 countries for the Olympics.”
Wasserman’s comments came despite reports Trump is looking at restricting travelers from as many as 43 countries as part of an earlier executive order that could prevent Olympic athletes and spectators from entering the United States.
The sweeping tariffs on nearly every country around the globe didn’t come until last week. Wednesday, the U.S. president announced a 90-day pause on the reciprocal portion of the tariffs for every country but China.
The economic turmoil caused by the tariffs, along with the impact on access to the U.S. market for foreign companies, is expected to impact Olympic sponsorships, a key source of revenue for hosting a Games.