Donald Trump instructed to consider the possibility of limiting the allocation of federal funding to those cities, whose authorities "allow anarchy, violence and pogroms."

This is stated in the memo of the American leader to the attorney general and director of the Office of Management and Budget, which was released by the White House.  

“My administration will not allow federal taxes to be used to fund cities that are turning into lawless zones.

To ensure that federal funds are not wasted and spent in defiance of our government's promise to protect life, liberty, and property, the federal government needs to reconsider the use of federal funds by jurisdictions that tolerate anarchy, violence and mayhem in American cities. " - wrote Trump in the document.

These cities include Seattle, Portland, New York and Washington, he said.

“Over the past months, a number of local and state governments have contributed to violence and pogroms within their jurisdictions by failing to maintain law and order, depriving their police of powers and severely cutting funding, and refusing to accept federal law enforcement assistance.

As a result of such a policy ... in many American cities, such as Portland, Seattle and New York, continuous and outrageous pogroms and acts of violence do not abate, "the head of the White House stressed.

In the document, Trump also noted that the attorney general, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security and the director of the Office of Management and Budget, should consider a number of criteria in defining "jurisdictions where anarchy reigns".

In particular, the Prosecutor General will have to find out whether the authorities prohibit the police from interfering “in order to restore order in the face of widespread or prolonged violence or pogroms”, whether they removed law enforcement protection in a certain territory or in a building “to which law enforcement officers have a legal right of access », Whether local authorities are depriving the police of powers and« whether their funding is being cut.

Also, one of the criteria is an unjustified refusal to "accept proposals from the federal government to provide assistance to law enforcement agencies."

  • US President Donald Trump

  • © Leah Millis / Reuters

Trump's motives

Explaining the reasons for his move, the head of the White House gave an example of the actions of local authorities, which he considers wrong.  

So, Trump recalled that for more than three weeks, starting on June 9, the Seattle leadership allowed "anarchists and rioters" to keep more than six quarters of the city under their control - a territory that activists called an "autonomous zone."

According to the head of the White House, the local government actually approved "this lawlessness and seizure of property," forbidding the police to intervene to restore order.

As Trump noted, the city's mayor allowed the "illegal occupation" to continue until two teenagers were killed and at least two more people were shot and wounded.

Describing the situation in Portland, the American leader noted that in this city for more than 80 days, local authorities did not interfere with “aggressive anarchists” who “illegally” rioted and participated in criminal activities on the streets, including destruction of property and attacks on police officers.

“Likewise, in New York City, violence has erupted.

In late May and early June, state and local officials allowed the looting to begin, which lasted more than a week and resulted in an estimated 450 businesses damaged, ”Trump said in a memo.

He also recalled that in late May - early June, Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser "allowed protesters and anarchists to resort to violence and pogroms, forcing" Trump to call on the National Guard "to maintain law and order in the country's capital."

  • Protest against racism and police violence near the White House, June 8, 2020

  • © Jonathan Ernst / Reuters

The day before, the head of the White House told reporters during his visit to the city of Kenosha, where protests are also taking place, that he considers the riots in the country "political" and "anti-American."

We will remind, the 45th President of the United States has repeatedly accused the Democrats, who are at the head of the rebellious cities and states, that they contribute to inciting protest moods.

Trump stressed this week that Democratic Party officials have "lost control of the radical left."

He also noted that his opponents oppose the president's visits to the pro-democratic states of the country, since for political reasons they avoid media coverage of what is happening on the ground.

"Identify those responsible"

As political analyst Alexander Asafov explained, in his memo with the instruction to consider the possibility of limiting federal funding for a number of American cities, the head of the White House "is trying to influence the mayors of the Democrats."

“Trump accuses them of indulging in protests and believes they have a serious impact on voters.

And it is true.

In addition, local authorities have already moved to open confrontation with Trump, "the expert said in an interview with RT.

At the same time, Asafov noted that this is Trump's second attempt to "put pressure" on the local authorities.

“The previous stage was marked when the head of the White House said that protests can only be defeated by force, and earlier he threatened to bring the National Guard into those cities in which unrest is still observed.

But it didn't work.

And now Trump has made a decision to influence democratic mayors and governors with the dollar, "the analyst said.

As Andrei Sidorov, head of the department of international organizations and world political processes at the Faculty of World Politics at Moscow State University, explained in a commentary to RT, federal funding "has a great impact on the urban economy."

“We are talking about the creation of infrastructure projects, the construction of social facilities, the construction of military bases that provide jobs for the population.

Therefore, for many large cities, the allocated federal funds are a very important support for development, ”the expert said.

Trump, preparing his memo, hoped that the cuts in federal funding for cities in which the protests continue, "will cause some damage to the city economy, and, consequently, to those people who now hold the posts of mayors there," Sidorov said.

“It would hit hard on the local authorities representing the Democratic Party.

Therefore, there is also a pre-election motive.

After all, the deprivation of federal funding can stop important projects in these cities - the construction of large bridges, railway stations and so on, ”the analyst believes.

  • White House

  • globallookpress.com

  • © PPI / Keystone Press Agency

At the same time, Trump "wants to identify those responsible for the protests and the consequences of the riots," Asafov said.

“He chose the Democrats-mayors for this, since the left-wing activists are not a concretized mass, you cannot point a finger at some of them, unlike representatives of the Democratic Party.

Indeed, in the case of the heads of Seattle, New York, Portland and Washington, Trump can directly indicate who is inciting protests, ”the expert said.

"A new portion of reproaches"

Trump's initiative has already been criticized by Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, calling it an "infantile method."

“We will not allow New York to suffer as a result of Donald Trump's malicious, infantile methods.

Instead of these silly tricks, the president should focus on how to get our country out of the COVID crisis, ”the politician said on his Twitter page.

We will not allow President Trump's malicious infantile ways to hurt New York City.



Instead of these foolish stunts he ought to be focused on getting our country out of the COVID crisis.https: //t.co/lMbbr6RJvq

- Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) September 3, 2020

As analysts predict, in response to Trump's order from the Democratic Party members, "a new portion of reproaches will fall down."

“They will declare that the head of the White House, taking away federal funding from a number of cities, is depriving Americans of jobs and salaries, who because of this will not be able to provide for their families,” said Andrei Sidorov.

At the same time, Asafov doubts that Trump will be able to deprive large pro-democratic cities of federal funding, since "members of the Democratic Party will resist with all their might."

“They will begin to appeal to the fact that no president can make this kind of decision without congressional approval.

Representatives of the Democratic Party will also say that the proposal of the head of the White House is inappropriate.

In addition, this topic will be another pretext to try to discredit Trump before November 3, ”the expert said.

However, as Sidorov notes, the Democrats will not be able to seriously harm the head of the White House.

“For Trump, this will not turn out to be fatal, since residents of cities ruled by Democratic mayors, by tradition, and so basically do not vote for Trump, being the nuclear electorate of the Democratic Party,” the analyst stated.

At the same time, the 45th US President will further rally his voters, once again proclaiming the slogan "law and order", Sidorov believes.

“The head of the White House wants to clearly convey to his electorate that if former Vice President Joe Biden comes to power, the chaos will continue or even be modified into revolutionary sentiments.

It is for this reason, according to Trump's logic, that any respectable American should vote for the current American leader, ”the expert concluded.