Donald Trump attacked the liberal states of California and New York on Saturday, saying that the governors of each state should call him if they need help with their increasing homeless population. In an early-morning tweet, Trump addressed the issue, saying that the states could easily resolve their problems with competent leadership and he was willing to help if they ask him “politely.”
“California and New York must do something about their TREMENDOUS Homeless problems. They are setting records!” he tweeted, according to Fox News . “If their Governors can’t handle the situation, which they should be able to do very easily, they must call and ‘politely’ ask for help. Would be so easy with competence!”
Trump’s attack comes shortly after the Department of Housing and Urban Development, led by Ben Carson, announced that unemployment has increased in the U.S. by 2.7 percent. This rise has largely been driven by an increase in California, which saw the homeless population explode by 16.4 percent in the last year, a problem that has been described as reaching crisis levels.
California Governor Gavin Newsom responded to the news and the increase in homelessness, saying that his state was working hard to tackle the issue, which includes creating free housing , but that the federal government needed to step in and help address the problem. To emphasize the role that the federal government can play to ease the issue, he pointed to policies enacted under former President Barack Obama, saying that his efforts had helped decrease the homeless population among former veterans countrywide by 50 percent.
In New York, New York City mayor Bill de Blasio also responded to the news, saying that his city was spending $120 million next year to try and help get people off the streets.
It’s not the first time that Trump has used the topic of homelessness to attack California and its leaders. Earlier this week, Trump took aim at House leader Nancy Pelosi, criticizing her for failing to tackle homelessness in her state.
Nancy, this just doesn’t seem right! https://t.co/0fmQj79DLX
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 28, 2019
“Nancy Pelosi’s District in California has rapidly become one of the worst anywhere in the U.S. when it come to the homeless & crime,” he said in a tweet. “It has gotten so bad, so fast – she has lost total control and, along with her equally incompetent governor, Gavin Newsom, it is a very sad sight!”
He also warned Newsom that if things continued to deteriorate, the federal government would be forced to step in and correct the problem.