UPDATE 1-Democratic mayors slam Trump's defunding threat
Sept 3- Four Democratic mayors on Thursday said President Donald Trump’s threat to pull federal funding from “lawless cities” was unlawful and their communities were not his “political pawns.” His comments followed the shooting death Saturday of Trump supporter Aaron Danielson in Portland, Oregon, which the president blamed on the “lawless” state of the city…
By Andrew Hay
Sept 3 (Reuters) – Four Democratic mayors on Thursday saidPresident Donald Trump’s threat to pull federal funding from”lawless cities” was unlawful and their communities were not his”political pawns.”
The Republican president has threatened to revoke funding toseveral Democratic cities over issues ranging from protection ofundocumented immigrants to their handling of civil unrest andprotests against police violence.
Trump, who has made law and order a theme of his re-electioncampaign, on Wednesday issued a memo directing hisadministration to identify funds that could be cut from citiesthat he said “permit anarchy, violence and destruction,” callingthem “anarchist jurisdictions.” All the cities cited areDemocratic.
His comments followed the shooting death Saturday of Trumpsupporter Aaron Danielson in Portland, Oregon, which thepresident blamed on the “lawless” state of the city underDemocratic Mayor Ted Wheeler.
Wheeler and the mayors of New York, Seattle and Washington,D.C., on Thursday said any attempt to withdraw federal moneywould be unconstitutional and defeated in court.
“Trump needs to wake up to the reality facing our cities -and our entire country – and realize he is not above the law,”the mayors said in a joint statement.
The United States is experiencing escalating clashes betweenright-wing and left-wing groups as police shootings of Blackpeople spark protests and counter-protests in the run-up to theNov. 3 presidential election.
Portland has become a focus of the presidential electioncampaign after over three months of demonstrations for policingand social justice reforms, with hundreds of arrests asprotesters clashed with police and destroyed property.
Anti-fascists had fought with supporters of the right-wingPatriot Prayer group in Portland every weekend since mid-Augustbefore Saturday’s shooting.
The latest flare-up in protest of police killing of a Blackman occurred after the release of on Wednesday showing thearrest in March in upstate New York of a Black man who died byasphyxiation after police put a hood over his head as he knelton the ground, handcuffed and naked.
Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden accuses Trump ofstoking the violence, while the president calls Biden weak oncrime.
Reuters polling shows no bounce in support for Trump, whotrails Biden, as most Americans see the coronavirus pandemic,not crime, as the top issue facing the country.(Reporting by Andrew Hay; Editing by Leslie Adler)