As I sip my java this morning, I am thinking about Trump's latest affirmation of his racial prejudice. The point in question is his decision to repeal the Obama's Fair Housing Rules.
It doesn't take a political genius to ascertain the motivation for his action in the face of declining poll numbers for the upcoming general election. Essentially, he is playing on the fears of the white suburban voter by suggesting that Joe Biden wants to "abolish the suburbs" and "end single family zoning," both assertions are, of course, pure Trump political horseshit.
The Obama rule passed in 2015 was known as Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Rule, or AFFH and was designed to strengthen the 1968 Fair Housing Act. In its simplest terms it required local communities who received Federal Housing money to assess the patterns of housing in their community to determine if there was discrimination and to develop plans to eliminate/minimize those patterns. It never had a chance for implementation since the Trump administration weakened implementation after he was elected in 2016.
What is telling about Cheeto are his tweets about the decision: "I am happy to inform all of the people living their Suburban Lifestyle Dream that you will no longer be bothered or financially hurt by having low income housing built in your neighborhood." Of course, we know who the "people living their suburban lifestyle dream" are, don't we? The goal, of course, was never to build low income housing in the suburbia but to encourage zoning that addresses patterns of housing discrimination to better balance housing opportunities in the community. I would say admirable aspirations for an open and fair society.
It is interesting to note that the Justice Department sued the Trump family business in the early 1970s for housing discrimination at their family properties, so there is likely some animosity at play by Trump in his hostility to fair housing. Clearly, he is not a proponent of any program to improve diversity and balance in our communities, anymore than he is committed to combating systemic racism in the country. He thrives on divisiveness and driving a wedge between groups in our electorate.
I sadly move on to more joe this morning.