Jim Jordan Backs GOP Push to Relocate Olympics from California to Red States

With Republicans now controlling every branch of government under President Donald Trump, discussions have emerged about moving major events like the Olympics from blue states to red states, where GOP politicians and donors could benefit. California, set to host the 2028 Olympics, has become a focal point of these discussions, partly due to challenges like wildfires and infrastructure strain.

The New Republic highlighted that Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) supports the idea of relocating the Olympics to a red state. On a recent Newsmax segment, host Rob Finnerty questioned California’s ability to manage the Olympics, World Cup, and Super Bowl within a single year. “I’m wondering if the Trump administration should seriously look at moving the Olympics to a red city… like Miami, Dallas, or maybe a city in your home state of Ohio,” Finnerty said.

Jordan agreed, emphasizing California’s mismanagement and resistance to Republican policies. “Yeah, especially when they’re spending time quote ‘Trump-proofing’ their state, looking for ways to set up barriers and obstacles to what the American people elected us to do,” Jordan said. “I’ll leave that up to President Trump and his team. But I do think the American people rightly see how poorly that state is being run.”

While Miami meets some Olympic Committee requirements, such as the 40,000 hotel rooms needed to accommodate visitors, it lacks sufficient infrastructure to house the 15,000 athletes, referees, and officials required for the games. Similarly, Columbus, Ohio, has far fewer resources, with just 26,794 hotel rooms and an estimated population of 913,175 in 2025, per the Census Bureau.

Despite this, Trump previously expressed support for California hosting the Olympics. In February 2020, he stated, “From the day I took office, I’ve done everything in my power to make sure that LA achieved the winning bid. Now, for the third time in history, the city of Los Angeles… will once again raise up the Olympic Torch and welcome the world’s greatest competitors to the Summer Games.”

The Olympics are a massive undertaking; Paris, for example, has sold 9.5 million tickets for the 2024 Games. Moving such an event from a city like Los Angeles to a smaller red-state city would pose significant logistical challenges. However, the idea reflects the GOP’s broader strategy to shift cultural and economic power to Republican strongholds.