Trump threatens 'anarchist' cities with funding cuts

President Donald Trump has signed a memo that threatens to cut federal funding to "lawless" cities, including Seattle, Portland, New York and Washington.

"My Administration will not allow Federal tax dollars to fund cities that allow themselves to deteriorate into lawless zones," said the memo, which was released by the White House on Wednesday.

The memo instructs Attorney General William Barr to develop a list of "anarchist jurisdictions" that "permitted violence and the destruction of property to persist and have refused to undertake reasonable measures" to restore order.

The memo also instructs White House budget director Russell Vought to issue guidance in 30 days "to the heads of agencies on restricting eligibility of or otherwise disfavoring, to the maximum extent permitted by law, anarchist jurisdictions in the receipt of Federal grants."

Trump laterThe US president had earlier tweeted “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.” 

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Twitter that Trump was trying to cut off funding that states and cities must receive to recover from the coronavirus pandemic.

"He is not a king. He cannot 'defund' NYC," Cuomo said. "It's an illegal stunt."

READ MORE: How structural racism shaped Black movements in the US

'Trump stokes unrest'

Earlier Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden had accused the US president of turning his back to stoke passions instead about unrest in America's cities.

Biden's broadsides came a day ahead of his own trip to Kenosha, Wisconsin, where the democratic condidate said he wants to help “heal” a city reeling from another police shooting of a Black man. The wounding of Jacob Blake and subsequent demonstrations have made the political battleground state a focal point for debate over police and protest violence, as well as the actions of vigilante militias.

Biden assailed Trump for his vilifying of protesters as well as his handling of the pandemic that has killed nearly 190,000 Americans and crippled the national economy, leaving millions out of work, schools straining to deal with students in classrooms or at home and parents struggling to keep up. An American president, Trump's challenger declared, should be able to lead through multiple crises at the same time.

“Where is the president? Why isn’t he working on this?,” Biden asked. “We need emergency support funding for our schools — and we need it now.

Mr. President, that is your job. That’s what you should be focused on — getting our kids back to school. Not whipping up fear and division — not inciting violence in our streets.”

Trump, meanwhile, has countered with sweeping condemnations of protesters, an absolute defense of law enforcement and denials that Americans with black and brown skin face barriers that whites do not — moves aimed at his overwhelmingly white political base.

The president continued his “law and order” mantra during his own Kenosha trip on Tuesday. He toured damaged buildings and discussed ways to quell unrest with law enforcement officials.

Trump was greeted by supporters who occasionally mixed with — and yelled at — Black Lives Matter organizers.

“These are not acts of peaceful protest but, really, domestic terror,” Trump said.

Despite repeated questions from reporters, the president refused to address racism in the country or its police departments. Instead, he asserted anew that a Biden presidency would bring riots and destruction to American cities. That echoes Trump's false charges that Biden backs violent protests and activists' calls to “defund the police.”

In fact, Biden has repeatedly denounced violence, from a June 2 speech after Floyd’s death up to a Monday address that his campaign quickly turned into a one-minute digital and television ad.

The shooting of Jacob Blake, an unarmed black man, by a white officer ignited fresh grief and protests three months after the killing of George Floyd, who suffocated beneath the knee of a white police officer in Minneapolis in May, cracking open the most widespread civil unrest in the US since the 1960s.

The demonstrators, demanding reforms of police practices they view as racist and abusive, have frequently clashed with law enforcement and on occasion with counter-protesters associated with right-wing militia groups.