Imagine it’s 2021 and Joe Biden has just been inaugurated as the 46th president. Then, after a couple of weeks of housekeeping, he starts tweeting about how Delaware, his home state, is run by a “horrible” governor and other crooked politicians. Later, he claims the state has been taken over by “lowlifes” and “scum” and that the National Guard should be called in. When a deadly virus kills thousands of residents, he refuses to provide adequate aid and, instead, spends his days attacking the state on Twitter and raging about how it should lose federal funding and be officially declared a hellhole. It would be pretty crazy! And also entirely reminiscent of Donald Trump’s grudge match against his own hometown, which escalated on Monday when the government designated New York City an “anarchist jurisdiction.”
How did the administration come to this conclusion, given that NYC is quite a lovely place where people enjoy sunning themselves in the park, dining at outdoor restaurants, and generally following all of the rules dictated by the government including, of late, the one about mask-wearing? According to the Justice Department, run by Trump consigliere Bill Barr, NYC is one of three cities—the others being Portland and Seattle—that “have permitted violence and destruction of property to persist and have refused to undertake reasonable measures to counteract criminal activities.” Rather than simple bluster by Trump, the designation could result in such cities losing federal funding. Earlier this month, the president directed the Office of Management and Budget to issue guidance to agencies on restricting eligibility for government grants for the “anarchist” jurisdictions, which, in the case of NYC, could mean losing more than $7 billion in 2021. The Justice Department justified the move by citing the city council’s decision to cut $1 billion from the NYPD’s budget, rising gun violence, and the decision by some district attorneys not to prosecute charges related to protests that took place over the summer. In a statement, Barr—who wants protesters charged with trying to overthrow the U.S. government—said, “We cannot allow federal tax dollars to be wasted when the safety of the citizenry hangs in the balance. It is my hope that the cities identified by the Department of Justice today will reverse course and become serious about performing the basic function of government and start protecting their own citizens.”
Obviously, Monday’s move is part of Trump’s effort to paint “Democrat run cities” as being crime-ridden hellscapes where no one would ever want to live, however inaccurate that depiction may be. (It’s also an attempt to punish people that didn’t vote for him in 2016, people who he’s basically admitted he wouldn’t mind seeing dead.) And, it’s clearly a reaction to the racial-justice protests that have taken place across the country, which Trump has regularly attacked and said should be met with police violence and vigilante justice.
Meanwhile:
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Andrew Cuomo responded to the move by the DOJ by warning, “The president can’t supersede the law and say I’m going to make those funds basically discretionary funds, which is what he would have to do…. If they actually do this, we will challenge it legally, and they will lose once again,” he added. During his daily news conference, Bill de Blasio said, “I was out in Elmhurst, Queens, this morning, I saw peace, tranquility, I saw people going about their business, people excited that it’s the first day of school—I saw anything but anarchy. This is just another one of President Trump’s games…. It’s insulting to the people of New York City and his effort to withhold our funding is unconstitutional.”
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