New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo warned President Trump that he would need an “army” to protect himself were he to walk down the street in New York City.
Cuomo made the threat after Trump had suggested he would defund liberal cities, such as the Big Apple, that have allowed “lawless” riots to continue.
“Forget bodyguards, he better have an army if he thinks he’s gonna walk down the street in New York. New Yorkers don’t want to have anything to do with him,” Cuomo said, according to the New York Post. “It is more of the same from him. It’s political, it is gratuitous. And it’s illegal. But it is another attempt to kill New York City.”
President Trump has actively sought to punish NYC since day one.
He let COVID ambush New York.
He refuses to provide funds that states and cities MUST receive to recover.
He is not a king. He cannot “defund” NYC.
It’s an illegal stunt.
— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) September 2, 2020
Trump responded to Cuomo by reminding the American public of the New York Democrat’s disastrous nursing home policy, forcing long-term care facilities to accept coronavirus patients.
Governors Andrew Cuomo of New York has the worst record on death and China Virus. 11,000 people alone died in Nursing Homes because of his incompetence!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 3, 2020
New York City isn’t the only Democratic-run city that Trump intends to defund.
He also threatened to withhold funding from Seattle, Portland, and Washington D.C., because Democratic officials have “permitted violence and the destruction of property” throughout the recent protests.
In a memo to Attorney General Bill Barr and the White House budget director, the president called for a review of all federal funds provided to these cities, arguing that “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.”
“My administration will not allow federal tax dollars to fund cities that allow themselves to deteriorate into lawless zones,” Trump wrote in the memo.
My Administration will do everything in its power to prevent weak mayors and lawless cities from taking Federal dollars while they let anarchists harm people, burn buildings, and ruin lives and businesses. We’re putting them on notice today. @RussVought45
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 3, 2020
The memo calls for the director of the Office of Management and Budget to issue guidance to the heads of executive agencies to submit a report detailing all federal funds that are normally provided to the four mismanaged cities.
The memo also asks Barr to identify other “anarchist jurisdictions” that have “refused to undertake reasonable measures to counteract criminal activities.”
“The federal government provides states and localities with hundreds of billions of dollars every year, which fund a wide array of programs, such as housing, public transportation, job training, and social services,” the memo reads. “These funds have been collected from American taxpayers who entrusted their money to the federal government to serve our communities and our citizens.”
