Cuomo Rebukes Trump For Threat To Cut Federal Funds To Democratic Cities

Trump's threat appears to be part of his “law and order” reelection strategy designed to appeal to white voters.
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New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) on Wednesday personally assailed President Donald Trump, in response to Trump’s threat to defund cities like New York City as part of his election year culture war against largely Democratic areas.

“He better have an army if he thinks he’s going to walk down the streets in New York,” Cuomo told reporters on a call Wednesday night. “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.”

Earlier on Wednesday, Trump issued a memo directing federal agencies to “review the use of Federal funds by jurisdictions that permit anarchy, violence, and destruction in America’s cities.” Alleging with little evidence that they are “lawless” and “anarchist,” he listed major cities where police have responded with excessive force to this summer’s anti-racism and anti-police brutality protests, including New York City; Washington, D.C.; Seattle; and Portland, Oregon.

The threat appears to be part of his “law and order” reelection strategy designed to appeal to white voters, and another attempt to downplay his shambolic response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Throughout the call, Cuomo continued to attack Trump personally, and brought up the leaked recording of his sister, retired federal judge Maryanne Trump Barry. On the recording, which was obtained by The Washington Post, Barry is heard attacking her brother’s “phoniness” and “cruelty,” and saying that he “has no principles” and “you can’t trust him.”

“Those that know him best like him least. That’s true about New York City, that’s true about his own family,” Cuomo said. “His sister, a former federal judge, is disgraced by him. What does that say about a person?”

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