New York – On November 8, 2016, Donald Trump was going to vote in Manhattan under the whistles. Four years later, the New York businessman’s unpopularity in his hometown turned into open warfare, with verbal battles, budget cuts and multiple legal attacks.
As the presidential election approaches, the Republican president attacks the first American metropolis, the Democratic stronghold, almost daily. “New York, California, Illinois: people fleeing, taxes and crime skyrocketing, VOTE TRUMP, I’ll change that, and quickly,“he tweeted on Monday, before adding Tuesday:”New York. Vote Trump, what (heck!) Have you got to lose?”
In the debate against Joe Biden last Thursday, he called New York “ghost town“- seen the thousands of well-off residents who left and the office districts deserted for fear of the coronavirus.
“Look at what is happening to my wonderful city. For years I adored her, she was vibrant – now she dies, everyone leaves New York“he said.
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“The only ghost town will be Mar-a-Lago (Trump’s Florida residence, editor’s note), where you will be forced into retirement after the electionDemocratic Mayor Bill de Blasio retorted on Twitter, while New Yorkers quipped by posting memes and photos of busy streets.
Donald Trump “is hated in this town by most people except maybe those with money“, said this week Susan Levin, 74, retired, after having voted Joe Biden in advance.
– “Antithesis“de New York –
New York nevertheless has “pockets“pro-Trump, notably on Staten Island, or in several parts of Queens and Brooklyn. In some areas with large Orthodox populations, the president’s pro-Israel policies have contributed to his popularity. And New York’s main police union, the SBA, calls for re-election.
Everyone expects, however, that Donald Trump, the first New York-born American president since Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919), will be rejected by an overwhelming majority by his hometown, as in 2016, when 79% of New- Yorkers voted Hillary Clinton.
The billionaire may have his name on Manhattan skyscrapers and hotels, but he designed the reality show “The Apprentice“who made him known in the country, the New York elites”never accepted it“said Kenneth Scarlett, marketing executive in Manhattan.
Mostly, “his presidency is the antithesis of everything New York stands for – openness and people of all backgrounds working together for the common good“said Matt Eldridge, 33, an economist.
As soon as he arrived at the White House, Donald Trump instigated a hardening of migration. New York, like other large Democratic cities, declared itself a city “sanctuary“, refusing to collaborate with the ICE migration police. The Trump administration retaliated by announcing the withdrawal of certain federal subsidies, the start of a judicial saga.
Today, there are many other disputes between Donald Trump and the New York authorities, including the Manhattan district attorney’s battle to obtain the president’s tax returns.
In this context, the Republican’s visits to New York have become extremely rare: the president prefers his golf club in New Jersey to his luxurious triplex in the Trump Tower. The 5th Avenue skyscraper, home of the Trump Organization, has become the rallying point for many protests.
– “Spurned lover” –
The pandemic has exacerbated tensions. Hard hit in the spring, the authorities still keep under cover “the city that never sleeps“To the chagrin of a president who wants to see the economy pick up quickly.
The mayor and the Democratic governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, have also been calling for months the president and the Republicans to replenish their coffers, in the face of the deficit in tax revenues generated by the pandemic. In vain, raising the threat of drastic reduction in public services.
If Donald Trump is re-elected, this budget feud could worsen. In September, the president placed New York on a list of cities “anarchists“, which could lead to the cancellation of other federal subsidies.
At issue: homicides and shootings on the rise since the demonstrations against police violence and racial inequalities, even if crime remains low compared to the 80s and 90s.
Under these conditions, no one imagines Donald Trump moving back to New York.
Mar-a-Lago, Florida, became his official residence at the end of 2019. And it was in this key state that he voted early on Saturday.
“He is like the rejected lover“, selon Kenneth Scarlett. “He wanted New York adulation and since he didn’t get it, now says he never wanted it“.
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