Difficult organization
Olympic fuss surrounding a possible visit from Donald Trump
02/19/2026 – 6:11 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
Donald Trump probably wants to travel to the Olympic Games and watch two events at once. But this turns out to be a mammoth organizational task.
The possible arrival of US President Donald Trump to the Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo apparently poses major challenges for the organizers. A few days ago it was reported that Trump would like to come to the ice hockey final in Milan on Sunday if the USA qualified. Afterwards, a visit to the graduation ceremony in Verona will probably be planned. The “Bild” newspaper now reports, citing Italian media, that the authorities were surprised by the announced visit and have several problems to solve.
On the one hand, the semi-finals only take place on Friday evening. Accordingly, it will only then be clear whether the USA will actually qualify for the final on Sunday. Accordingly, there were only around 30 hours left to plan a Trump visit.
According to “Bild”, how Trump should move through Milan represents a major challenge. The Santa Giulia hall, where the final will take place, is located far in the east of the city. Although Linate Airport is nearby, the presidential plane Air Force One is, according to the report, too large to land there. Instead, Malpensa Airport must be flown to. From there it is 70 kilometers to the hall, which would be too long for the presidential convoy to travel.
One idea is that Trump would therefore travel from the airport to the hall in a helicopter. The subsequent onward journey to the graduation ceremony in Verona should also take place in this way. Alternatively, Trump could just attend the graduation ceremony in Verona. Preparations for a presidential visit are already underway there. Whether Trump will actually come and where will only be decided at short notice.