Custom Search
As Trump Moves to Defund “Anarchist” NYC and Three Other Cities, Gov. Cuomo Issues a Threat
Marie Finn
President Trump has ordered the feds to jumpstart the process of defunding cities that have “deteriorated into lawless zones” by reducing the police force and allowing violent protests to run rampant.
On Wednesday the President signed an order for federal agencies to send the WH Office of Management and Budget reports detailing funding provided to “anarchist cites.”
My Administration will not allow Federal tax dollars to fund cities that allow themselves to deteriorate into lawless zones,” Trump said. “To ensure that Federal funds are neither unduly wasted nor spent in a manner that directly violates our Government’s promise to protect life, liberty, and property, it is imperative that the Federal Government review the use of Federal funds by jurisdictions that permit anarchy, violence, and destruction in America’s cities.”
New York City, Washington, DC, Seattle, and Portland are the initial cities named in the President’s five-page memo, but they’re just Trump’s initial targets. Attorney General Bill Barr has been tasked to put together a list of cities that refuse to “undertake reasonable measures” to restore law and order.
Trump called out state and local officials in each of the four cities. Washington DC made the list when Mayor Muriel Bowser “allowed rioters and anarchists to engage in violence and destruction,” requiring the President to activate the National Guard.
Portland, which received $252 million of federal funds in 2019, was named for unchecked clashes that have occurred nightly for over three months and the city’s refusal to accept federal aid.
Seattle made the list for allowing the “autonomous zone” to take root in their downtown area. The memo noted, “in recent weeks, rioters have engaged in violence and destruction of property across Seattle, resulting in at least 59 police officers being injured and multiple businesses and vehicles vandalized.”
New York City is set to take a huge hit when they lose $7 billion in federal funding due to a surge in violence and a significant reduction in arrests. “In light of this unconscionable rise in violence, I have offered to provide Federal law enforcement assistance, but both Mayor de Blasio and Governor Andrew Cuomo have rejected my offer,” the President said.
In a press conference Wednesday, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo was livid.
“He can’t have enough bodyguards to walk through New York City. Forget bodyguards, he’d better have an army if he thinks he’s going to walk down the streets in New York,” he threatened Trump. “He is persona non grata in New York City, and I think he knows that, and he’ll never come back to New York because New Yorkers will never forget how gratuitously mean he has been.”
Trump tweeted that his administration “will do everything in its power to prevent weak mayors and lawless cities from taking Federal dollars.”
Cuomo clapped back that “He thinks he’s a king but he’s not. He’s a president. And there is a Constitution and there are laws — nothing that he knows anything about — but the federal budget is appropriated by law.”