Richard Grenell, President Donald Trump’s envoy for special missions, told Newsmax on Friday that the president should focus his next anti-crime initiative on Los Angeles rather than Chicago or New York once federal efforts in Washington, D.C., conclude.
Grenell, a longtime California resident and former acting director of national intelligence, told “Rob Schmitt Tonight” he directly raised the issue with Trump earlier in the day, warning that Los Angeles is ill-prepared for the 2028 Olympics if its crime, homelessness, and illegal immigration problems are left unaddressed.
“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,” Grenell said.
“We’ve got the Olympics coming in Los Angeles, and the city is a mess. The homeless people are everywhere. It’s making it very unsafe. Crime is out of control. We’ve got an illegal immigrant problem.
“And so, I’m not so sure that Los Angeles is going to be ready for the Olympics unless President Trump can send in some help.”
Grenell said residents are frustrated with local leaders, including Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Democrats whom he has accused of failing to deliver basic safety and order.
“The mayors of these cities have had long enough, and the people are complaining,” Grenell said. “President Trump is just responding to what the people want.
“The people of Los Angeles deserve to have safety. That’s all we’re talking about: doing the things the mayor and the governor have failed to do.”
Grenell suggested that public opinion in Los Angeles is turning against city hall, citing the handling of crime and recent natural disasters.
“Especially after the fires in Los Angeles, they don’t believe Karen Bass is able to bring about enough change or enough safety to be able to have the Olympics,” he said.
Unlike Washington, D.C., where the president has broad authority over local law enforcement, Los Angeles presents a different challenge. Under the Constitution, most policing powers rest with states and municipalities, meaning federal intervention requires cooperation or extraordinary legal measures.
Trump already tested those limits in June, when he federalized elements of the California National Guard and deployed Marines to Los Angeles under a seldom-used statute, bypassing state objections. The move sparked lawsuits from Newsom and raised questions about presidential power over state-controlled forces.
Should Trump return to Los Angeles after Washington, he could try the same approach again, though legal challenges are still working their way through the courts. He could expand the role of federal agencies such as the FBI; the Drug Enforcement Administration; and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives in joint task forces or increase federal prosecutions of violent crime and gang cases.
In rare circumstances, the Insurrection Act of 1807 allows even broader intervention, though such a step would almost certainly be challenged in California.
Grenell acknowledged those complications but insisted that the stakes are too high to leave Los Angeles unchecked.
“The people want someone to do it,” he said. “President Trump can do it.”
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