WATCH LIVE: Trump holds a press conference with FBI Director Patel

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Tuesday threatened to move World Cup matches scheduled to be played next year in suburban Boston, after suggesting unrest had “taken over” parts of the city.

Trump is scheduled to speak to the media with FBI Director Kash Patel at 3 p.m. ET. Watch in the player above.

Foxborough, Massachusetts, home of the NFL’s New England Patriots and about 30 miles from Boston, is scheduled to host games while the United States hosts the 2026 World Cup along with Mexico and Canada. Trump was asked about Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, a Democrat he described as “smart” but “far-left.”

“We can take them away,” Trump said of the World Cup matches. “I love Bostonians and I know the games are sold out. But your mayor is no good.”

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“They control parts of Boston,” he suggested, without providing details, but adding, “We can get them back in about two seconds.”

The Trump administration has already deployed National Guard troops to Washington and Memphis, and efforts to do so in Chicago and Portland, Oregon, have sparked legal battles.

Wu’s office did not directly respond to Trump’s threat, and issued a statement saying: “Boston is honored and excited to host the World Cup, and we look forward to welcoming fans from around the world to our beautiful city, the cradle of freedom and the city of champions.”

Trump’s statements came during his meeting with Argentine President Javier Miley, and it was not immediately clear what he was referring to by the parts of Boston that were seized. However, earlier this month, multiple arrests were made in connection with a pro-Palestinian demonstration that turned violent on Boston Common. Four police officers were injured.

Trump had previously suggested he could declare cities “unsafe” for the 104-match soccer tournament and change the detailed hosting plan confirmed by FIFA in 2022. The plan includes matches in NFL stadiums near New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

World Cup host sites not up to Trump’s standards. The 11 American cities – in addition to three cities in Mexico and two in Canada – are contracting with FIFA, which will face major logistical and legal problems to make changes in the eight months before the match kicks off on June 11.

“It is the FIFA tournament, it is FIFA’s jurisdiction, and FIFA is the one who makes those decisions,” FIFA vice president Victor Montagliani said earlier this month at a sports business conference in London.

Still, Trump said: “If someone is doing a bad job, if I feel there are unsafe conditions, I will call Gianni – the extraordinary president of FIFA – and say, ‘Let’s move to another site,’ and they will do it.”

The president was referring to FIFA President Gianni Infantino, a close ally. Trump said Infantino “doesn’t like to do it, but he would do it very easily.”

Associated Press writer Michael Casey in Boston contributed to this report.