President Donald Trump is ending 2019 by challenging key leaders of California’s #Resistance to focus on the rapidly escalating homeless crisis in the state.
He blasted Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, targeting her San Francisco area for some sharp remarks on Twitter.
“Nancy Pelosi’s District in California has rapidly become one of the worst anywhere in the U.S. when it come [sic] to the homeless & crime. 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!,” Trump posted on his Twitter account.In another tweet about Pelosi, suggested she could face a primary opponent if she doesn’t clean up the homeless problem.“Crazy Nancy should clean up her filthy dirty District & help the homeless there. A primary for N?,” he wrote.
Trump also derided Governor Gavin Newsom’s ineffective handling of this man-caused disaster.
Following the Democratic debate last week, Newsom blamed the president’s Department of Housing and Urban Development, led by Secretary Ben Carson, for the rise in homelessness in his state.“Shelters solve sleep. Housing and supportive services solve homelessness. Housing first. You have a new director on the Interagency Council on Homelessness in the United States appointed by Donald Trump that says housing [comes] fourth,” said Newsom….Trump didn’t take Newsom’s remarks lying down. He fired back on Christmas Day, tweeting, “Governor Gavin N has done a really bad job on taking care of the homeless population in California. If he can’t fix the problem, the Federal Govt. will get involved!”
There are a few factors that seem to be in play, which need to be accounted for when evaluating the fairly robust critique Trump has afforded these two politicians.
One element is that President Trump has been willing to work politely, effectively, and supportively with any politician (regardless of party affiliation) that is helpful in working on his “Make American Great Again” agenda. However, Pelosi has unleashed her impeachment hounds and Newsom and California state officials have filed lawsuit after lawsuit to prevent the White House agenda from being enacted.
The other element is that California’s homeless crisis is now impacting the nation as a whole.
California’s homeless population increased so much in 2019 that it caused a nationwide rise in overall homeless, despite declines in more than half of the states this year, according to new federal data.Every year, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development uses data reported by about 3,000 cities and counties to estimate the nation’s homelessness population. The data is used in tandem with snapshot estimates by “Continuums of Care” planning agencies of individuals and families “living in emergency shelters, traditional housing programs and unsheltered settings” on a single night in January to assess “the scope of homelessness and (measure) progress toward reducing it,” according to a department press release….The most populous state in the United States, California saw the largest spike to its homeless population with an increase of 21,306 people in 2019, which was more than the total national increase of every other state combined. The Golden State’s overall homeless population was estimated to be 151,278 people in 2019.”As we look across our nation, we see great progress, but we’re also seeing a continued increase in street homelessness along our West Coast where the cost of housing is extremely high,” said Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson in a statement.”In fact, homelessness in California is at a crisis level and needs to be addressed by local and state leaders with crisis-like urgency,” he said. “Addressing these challenges will require a broader, community-wide response that engages every level of government to compassionately house our fellow citizens who call the streets their home.”
I do not think either Trump or Carson wants to simply write a big check of the nation’s taxpayer dollars to California either, effectively throwing other people’s money at the problem . . . and expecting the situation to improve or for California politicians to stop their #Resistance tactics.
I suspect Trump wants to see the state stop the over-regulation that impedes the construction of new housing, that hampers the effective handling of quality-of-life crimes, and that stands in the way of ending harmful “Sanctuary State” policies.
I predict that in 2020, Trump will continue to give the entire state of California the Baltimore treatment.
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