Trump directs federal agencies to defund 4 Democratic cities, other 'anarchist jurisdictions'
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Trump's AmericaEdit
Trump directs federal agencies to defund 4 Democratic cities, other 'anarchist jurisdictions'
2:22 a.m.
President Trump released a five-page memo Wednesday directing federal agencies to find ways to cut billions in federal grants to four solidly Democratic cities and determine which other "anarchist jurisdictions" he could defund. Trump specifically targeted New York City; Washington, D.C.; Seattle, Washington; and Portland, Oregon. He claimed these cities have become "lawless zones" that "permit anarchy, violence, and destruction."
Trump gave Attorney General William Barr 14 days to identify these "anarchist jurisdictions," and his given criteria include any area that "disempowers or defunds police departments" or "forbids the police force from intervening to restore order amid widespread or sustained violence or destruction." The Office of Management and Budget has 30 days to direct agencies to find ways to restrict federal grants to these justifications, which Trump doesn't name, "possibly for legal reasons," the New York Post reports.
As part of his campaign strategy "to shift the public's attention away from his administration's failed response to the coronavirus pandemic," Trump "has repeatedly sought to paint cities as hellscapes that only he can save, regardless of how limited the violent outbreaks have been during broader protests against acts of brutality by police officers against Black people," The New York Times notes. His latest "move is almost certain to face legal challenges."
The leaders of the four targeted cities did in fact threaten legal action, and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) called Trump's "illegal" order another "cheap" and "gratuitous" attempt by a wannabe "king" to "kill New York City," adding that Trump "better have an army if he thinks he's going to walk down the street in New York," their shared home town.
The Washington Post's Paul Farhi pointed out that "cutting funding to punish cities that have defunded police" will probably "lead cities to ... further defund police," due to lack of funds. But these cities were never going to vote for Trump, and FiveThirtyEight's Nate Silver points out that Trump, perversely, doesn't need them to.
The comparison to Obama in 2008 is instructive because Biden is polling at almost exactly Obama's popular vote margin from '08 now (7.5 vs. 7.3 for Biden). But he's added a LOT of votes in these 5 high-population states, plus possibly MD and IL, which have little polling. — Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) September 2, 2020
If Joe Biden gets huge wins in Washington, New York, and Oregon, it won't help his "Electoral College chances at all," Silver notes. Peter Weber
Hey, he left out Chicago . Now we feel neglected.
Trump may be planting the kiss of death on his own re-election hopes. Current polling shows his "law and order" campaign is not working with voters.
Notice how he left Kenosha out of his order against "anarchy" though. Wisconsin is a swing state.
He knows he is defeated so he is trying to create as much turmoil as he can for the next two months.
thats all he ever does
I think that is true. One can also make the same case for Trump sycophants. I suspect the 'arguments' will grow increasingly shrill if the current trend continues (Trump losing).
Indeed, as will their fathomless denial as they continue to proclaim that dishonest Donald will somehow win by a landslide when virtually every poll shows exactly the opposite. But they will continue to cling to their bibles, guns and 2016 electoral college win as proof no polls should ever be trusted again, ever, unless it shows them in the lead...
It is interesting to observe the degree to which what one desires affects one’s objectivity.
Yep.
It's interesting that we haven't seen any seeds exalting Rasmussen polls of late.
It seems that even Rasmussen is seeing data showing that Trump's approval rating is falling and that Biden is ahead.
Trump is a true zero so it's hard to gauge those he is measured against. 10,000 sounds good too.
Trump can threaten all he wants, but he can't do it because the money has already been appropriated.