LA 2024 officials yesterday congratulated Donald Trump on his presidential victory despite it being "viewed within the Olympic movement as a significant setback to the city's quest to hold a third Games," according to Scott Reid of the ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER. IOC members have "made it clear for months that they viewed a potential Trump presidency as an impediment" to L.A.'s bid, "citing the Republican candidate's anti-Muslim and immigrant stances as well as several other comments made about foreign governments." The Trump victory was also a "personal setback" for LA 2024 Chair Casey Wasserman, who "contributed at least $277,700" to Democratic campaigns -- including for Hillary Clinton -- in '16. IOC members and other longtime Olympic movement watchers said that the impact of Trump's election on the L.A. bid "could be offset by a victory by Marine Le Pen of the ultra-conservative National Front in next spring's French presidential election" (ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, 11/10). In L.A., David Wharton notes questions about Trump and L.A.’s bid "were amplified" at the Rio Games, where IOC members "expressed concerns about Trump’s positions on NATO, international trade and immigration." The L.A. campaign has "insisted it exists beyond the confines of domestic politics" (L.A. TIMES, 11/10).
MIND YOUR MANNERS: The AP's Graham Dunbar noted IOC members yesterday "cited possible pros and cons" of Trump's role in the L.A. bid. Trump's comments on Muslims, Mexicans and other issues "could have offended some of the 98 IOC members from around the world." Canadian IOC member Dick Pound said, "It may have." But Dunbar noted Pound "did not rule out the possibility that Trump could help win votes if he travels" to Lima, Peru, in September to pitch the L.A. bid in person to the IOC. Pound: "If he is there, and evidently he is someone who feeds off his audience, there is no reason to think he can't work this audience." South African IOC member Sam Ramsamy said, "He has been rude to everybody. I don't believe it will affect bidding in any way." Swiss IOC member Rene Fasel "suggested that if Trump spoke offensively during the presidential race, it was a tactic to woo voters that worked." Fasel: "You saw his speech today and it's already a different man" (AP, 11/9).
