LA 2024 Chair Casey Wasserman said that President Trump has "done everything" to support the city's bid to host the '24 Games, according to Ossian Shine of REUTERS. Wasserman on Thursday said, "Donald Trump has done everything we could have asked to support our bid. Every letter, every phone call ... to [IOC] President Bach ... support of our bid generally ... in my role, from what we need from the federal government, he's been all I would hope for." Wasserman did "not reveal the details of Trump's call to Bach, only to say it had lasted a good while" (REUTERS, 5/5).
OPEN MIND: The AP's Rob Harris notes Wasserman "can't risk putting off any voters" as L.A. challenges Paris for hosting in '24. That means "continuing to engage with a high-profile Olympic powerbroker accused of bribery in soccer politics and not publicly condemning Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahad al-Sabah of Kuwait." The Asian Olympic leader "hasn't been convicted of any crime but he swiftly resigned from his soccer roles in response to being accused of wrongdoing" last week. Wasserman: "I can only judge on my personal experience with [Kuwait] members. They have been great. They have been communicative. They have been open." Wasserman said he has "enjoyed" his conversations and "interaction with the sheikh at various events." Wasserman: "And I have no doubt, as with every other IOC member at any event we would be at, that there is a chance to continue our interactions." Wasserman said the bribery accusations facing Sheikh Ahmad are "things that happened before our bid process started and have nothing to do with an Olympic bid" (AP, 5/4).
