⚽ Will Trump move the World Cup?

Trump Threatens to Move World Cup From Seattle, Again

In response to a question from an Oval Office reporter, President Donald Trump referred to Katie Wilson as a “very, very liberal-slash-communist mayor” and threatened to move next year’s cup to another city, “if we think there’s going to be any trouble.” Trump has framed Seattle as dangerous and unsafe, despite violent and property crime declining this year. [Seattle Times]

• On today’s podcast, we talk to contributors Eula Scott Bynoe and Lex Vaughn about how the World Cup is going to impact Seattle, and how Wilson should deal with Trump.

Katie Wilson Accepts Job After ‘Grueling Interview Process,’ No Longer Needs ‘Parental Support’

On Instagram, Wilson For Seattle posted that she has accepted the job of mayor and no longer needs parental support from her parents for childcare.

• This is, of course, in response to a KUOW piece during the election where Wilson talked about how her parents helped pay for child support. Harrell’s campaign seized on this story, calling Wilson out of touch and ‘not a working-class Seattleite.’
• According to Wilson, childcare ran her about $2,200 a month for one child. This is in line with what the Seattle Times reported in October of 2025, when they reported on ‘outrageously expensive’ childcare in Seattle. [Seattle Times]
• As a parent myself, I can tell you that this number is lower than what I pay for one child, and after-school care for my older child adds considerable cost as well.

🏡 State-Managed Rent to Own Program Fails to Produce Any Home Ownership for Native Families: A program designed to help Native tenants become homeowners has 300 homes eligible for ownership, but due to administrative failures, not a single home has come under the ownership of a Native family. The state housing commission is responsible for managing the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit’s (LIHTC) Eventual Tenant Ownership program in Washington through agreements with tribal housing authorities. After a 2024 audit determined that the program had “failed its mission,” advocates and lawmakers are pushing for reform to ensure Native families finally gain homeownership. [Underscore Native News and ICT]

💰 Federal Funding Changes Could Put Homelessness System at Risk: Under new rules put forth by the Trump administration, funding for permanent housing administered by King County Regional Homelessness Authority could go from around $60 million to $20 million, which could put thousands of people on the streets, including 4,500 in Seattle itself. The county is working on alternate sources of funding. We should have more on this later this week. [PubliCola]

🤖 University of Washington Is Going In on AI: A $10 million dollar donation from Charles and Lisa Simonyi, who have strong ties to Microsoft, has helped to create the AI@UW initiative. According to Noah Smith, who will be leading the initiative, the university will create a grant program, increase AI literacy, and establish an AI governance committee. This comes as whispers of an AI bubble are brewing and Peter Thiel dumping his stocks. [Seattle Times]

• If you want to hear more about AI and its relationship to Seattle, check out this segment from yesterday’s episode:
  • You can also watch the segment here or click on the photo above.

🦃 Melt The Freeze, Thanksgiving Style: Flying solo for Thanksgiving this year? Join this Friendsgiving dinner! It’s technically the Saturday after the holiday, but it still seems like a great opportunity to meet new people and thaw both the turkey and the freeze. [Reddit]