>> Well, Donald Trump claims he wants senate GOP to pass a stimulus bill that offers more
funding than Democrats in the house.
The truth is he is trying to defund cities that he dislikes.
And basically take away government grants that have helped them keep people safe during
the COVID pandemic.
So the White House is considering slashing millions of dollars for coronavirus relief,
HIV treatment, screenings for newborns.
And other programs in Democratic led cities that President Donald Trump has deemed, anarchist
jurisdictions.
So the cities that made his list include of course, Portland, Washington DC and also Seattle.
So New York, Portland, Oregon, Washington DC and Seattle could lose funding for a wide
swath of programs.
That serve their poorest, sickest residents after the president moved last month to restrict
funding.
Escalating his political battle against liberal cities he's sought to use as a campaign foil.
So you may have remembered this, but back in September 2nd.
He issued an order that called on federal agencies to curtail funding to jurisdictions
that disempower police departments and promote lawlessness.
And so HHS at that point put together a list of federal grants that could be considered
for budget cuts.
And unfortunately, the list includes 185 programs that touch on everything.
From Trump's own initiative to end HIV transmission by the end of the decade, to the opioid crisis
and research into lung diseases.
So it's not just about COVID, it's about any type of government program.
Any type of government grant that helps the cities deal with public health issues.
And it's just exactly what you can expect from someone like Donald Trump.
Just retaliation against cities that of course, don't support his policies, don't appreciate
his lack of leadership and his incompetence.
>> Yeah, and at least in this case as in many others, he's very honest.
Like he talks about blue states, blue cities, blue people as not being worthy of his consideration.
Their death counts not being worthy of being counted and all of that, he's been very clear
about that.
And this is another area where his personality becomes policy.
And that's why whenever we sound the alarm about things that he's saying crazy, insane
things he's saying and tweeting.
For a long time, I think it's mostly done, but for a long time people would respond by
saying.
Why are you focusing on that, why are you getting so worked up, why are you getting
hysterical?
That's because the things that he say become policy.
If he's talking about cutting, like the funding to do testing, then it ends up happening,
we find out about that.
When he talks about blue states and blue cities as places that he doesn't care about.
That might influence the actual funding and not just for the pandemic, although clearly
that's gonna be a big part of it.
But going forward, like the guy who hates these cities so much now, while he's still
extensively trying to get reelected.
What is his approach to those cities, two months after he gets elected, reelected, I
should say?
It can be rough times, if you're in certain states in certain cities, if he gets a second
term.
Yeah, just to give you one other recent example, although he did later change his mind on this.
California has been dealing with devastating wildfires, every year it gets worse because
of climate change.
And so Gavin Newsom asked the federal government for some help.
Because obviously, the state needs help and funding to help battle these fires.
Especially the age of COVID where states have been grappling with an increase in unemployment
claims and all of that.
And at first, the Trump administration was like, no.
He later reversed his decision luckily, but the way Donald Trump operates is very much
punitive.
Based on the voters in that location or the local politicians and how they treat him or
respond to his policies.
And that's not the way a president is supposed to lead the country, he politicizes literally
everything he can politicize.
And he retaliates against municipalities and states that he deems unfriendly to his administration.
It's what you can expect from Donald Trump.