Trump's war on cities First he tells us they're hellholes, then he tries to make them worse. Paul Waldman Jun 5 Duffy speaks at the DOT building in DC last month. (Win McNamee/Getty) ✈️ 🚝 🚗 This free edition of PN is made possible by paid subscribers. If you appreciate our fiercely independent coverage of American politics, please support us by clicking the button and signing up for a paid subscription. 👇 Going purely by biography, Donald Trump is the most urban of presidents. Raised in Queens, he spent much of his life thirsting for nothing so much as praise and acceptance from the Manhattan establishment, something that forever eluded him. But as president, he’s waging a steadily growing war on cities and all they represent. Fomenting anti-urban resentment is nothing new for Trump’s party, but in this most unbound of presidencies, the war is both practical and rhetorical, reaching high and low with dramatic funding cuts and petty vindictiveness. The real cover-up is of Trump's disordered mental state Stephen Robinson · Jun 3 Read full story Consider congestion pricing in New York City, in which drivers are charged a toll for bringing vehicles into central Manhattan at busy times of the day. In its short time in operation it has been an extraordinary policy success: Traffic is moving faster, accidents and noise complaints are down, more visitors are coming, and the money being generated by the tolls will help pay for upgrades to the public transportation system, where ridership is up. So, naturally, the Trump administration is determined to force the city to end the policy (that effort is tied up in the courts). Why do they even care? Urbanism in any form seems to strike them as an affront. If we have to have these despicable concentrations of humanity, at least they should be built so that if you’re forced to go there you never have to leave your car. Liberals “want you to take public transportation,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy huffed recently on Fox Business. “The problem is that it’s dirty! You have criminals, it’s homeless shelters, it’s insane asylums … it’s a work ground for the criminal element to prey upon the good people.” Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com Duffy: "If you're liberal, they want you to take public transportation ... the problem is that it's dirty. You have criminals. It's homeless shelters. It's insane asylums. It's a work ground for the criminal element of the city to prey upon the good people." Wed, 28 May 2025 20:42:34 GMT View on Bluesky But despite what Duffy claims, millions of people ride the New York subways every day and somehow emerge with life and limb intact. People living in rural areas and small towns are constantly told by conservative politicians and media figures they trust that American cities are hellholes of violence and decay, so they come to believe that if they set foot in a large city their chances of surviving even a few minutes are iffy at best. When I made this point on Bluesky, dozens of people replied that this is exactly what relatives or friends of theirs believe. A cabinet of dunces David R. Lurie · May 23 Read full story “We live in San Diego. My dad & stepmom in rural TN are scared to come visit ‘because of what could happen,’” said one. “I live in a city of 100,000 in Arkansas,” said another. “I have co-workers who live in tiny outlying towns who won’t go to downtown restaurants after dark because they are scared.” As it happens, crime has fallen precipitously since the covid spike of 2020 and 2021, and 2025 could see some of the lowest crime rates in modern times. The covid crime spike hit rural areas too, though few seemed to notice. That’s especially true when it comes to conservative media, where histrionic coverage of urban crime is a mainstay (especially at election time). And while crime does happen on the New York subway, it’s also a place where all the riders on a car will swing into action together to corral a bag full of live crabs. A note from Aaron: Working with brilliant contributors like Paul takes resources. If you aren’t already a paid subscriber, please sign up to support our work. “You get shot, you get mugged, you get raped” Few prominent figures talk more often about urban crime than the president himself, whose view of the city he grew up in seems frozen in the New York of Charles Bronson’s 1970s “Death Wish” movies, in which an angry white man goes around the city blasting away at black and brown toughs. Though crime is dramatically down since then — while there were over 2,000 homicides per year in New York City in the early 1990s, in 2024 there were just 377 in the city of eight a half million people, and 2025 looks to be even lower — Trump either doesn’t believe it or knows how powerful the picture of the murderous city can be. “You can’t walk across the street to get a loaf of bread,” he would say during last year’s campaign. “You get shot, you get mugged, you get raped.” (The clip below is from a campaign stop he made in Michigan last August.) Trump’s running mate JD Vance went to Minneapolis during the campaign, called it “overrun with crime,” and said that if Kamala Harris were elected, this same horror “is coming to every community across the United States of America.” While Trump hasn’t announced an anti-urban agenda, that’s what many of the policies being pushed by his administration and Congress amount to, and the attack on New York’s congestion pricing is just one example. Republicans are planning dramatic cuts to housing assistance and a variety of transportation programs, including one that helps cities undo the harms caused to neighborhoods when they were bisected by highways. The administration wants to pull grants and contracts from “sanctuary cities” that aren’t providing enough support for its mass deportation program. Trump's attack on Harvard hampered by his inability to STFU Liz Dye · May 28 Read full story But the biggest urban assault of all may be contained within Trump’s other budget cuts and his war on higher education. Many cities that were once industrial hubs now have economies built on “Eds and Meds” — universities and hospitals. Think Pittsburgh, where the largest employers in its county are the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and the University of Pittsburgh, while US Steel ranks all the way down at number 18. (In fact, UPMC subsidiaries account for nine of the top 50 employers in Allegheny County; it bestrides southwestern Pennsylvania like a colossus.) As Jonathan Zasloff observes, “what are two industries that the administration has focused on destroying? Eds and meds.” When the administration pulls funding from universities and guts the nation’s capacity for medical research, cities and their economies will be hit particularly hard. Cities really are liberal, and there’s nothing wrong with that When Republicans feel in their guts that there’s something inherently liberal about urban life that goes beyond who runs the government in most cities, they aren’t wrong. Cities change rapidly and continuously in ways suburbs and rural areas don’t, both physically and demographically; if you want to live in a place that will be the same as it was when you were a kid, the city isn’t for you. The fact of living in close quarters with so many others involves both voluntary and involuntary restrictions on your freedom, and to negotiate that coexistence, you have to check yourself. You can’t play your music as loud as you want, or tear down the road as fast as you want, or set off fireworks outside your house. The white rural reckoning Tom Schaller and Paul Waldman · May 15 Read full story Cities are also where most immigrants end up, and where people looking for economic opportunity or acceptance are drawn. The resulting diversity requires you to learn to live with many different kinds of people. The Queens of Donald Trump’s youth was embodied in Archie Bunker, the unashamedly bigoted protagonist of “All in the Family.” Today, Queens may be the most ethnically and linguistically diverse spot on the planet. Archie would have moved to the suburbs long ago, and regaled anyone who would listen with tales of how awful his former home had become. The idea of the dangerous city is woven through the culture conservatives promote. It was just two years ago that “bro country” star and Trump supporter Jason Aldean released “Try That In a Small Town,” which told the story of urbanites bringing their mayhem to a small town, which would be met with violence that sounds a lot like lynching (“That shit might fly in the city/Good luck/Try that in a small town/See how far you make it down the road”). The video showed scenes of urban violence set against gentle rural idylls of families and buddies going hunting. The song was hyped on Fox News and played at rallies for Republican candidates, and though Aldean’s advocates claimed he had been “cancelled,” in fact, “Try That In A Small Town” became the biggest crossover hit of his career, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100. His tale of urban crime and rural belligerence wasn’t particularly original, but it was catnip for the political right, which is always looking to claim authenticity by pitting rural against urban and siding with the former. What we have, then, is a multiplicity of political forces — culture, media, politics — pushing in the same direction. When Democrats like Joe Biden take office, they not only praise the “heartland,” they enact policies meant to improve life there, desperately trying to show that they aren’t urban elitists. But when Republicans assume power, their rhetorical war on cities gets turned into policy. And as with just about everything in Trump’s second presidency, this version is worse than ever. Thanks for reading Public Notice. This post is public so feel free to share it. That’s it for today We’ll be back with more tomorrow. If you appreciate today’s newsletter, please support our work by signing up. Paid subscribers make Public Notice possible.

POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: Talk of the town (hall)

 

By Kelly Garrity

SHUTDOWN SCARIES — There was a moment midway through House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark’s town hall in Waltham over the weekend when frustration bubbled over. “It’s not enough!” people shouted as someone in the crowd of anxious constituents waved a sign featuring a request: “Try doing something.” Democrats in Congress have struggled to shake the notion that they’re not doing enough — or at least something , as Saturday’s sign-waver noted — to keep President Donald Trump and his newly created Department of Government Efficiency in check. Now, with Congress barreling toward a potential government shutdown Friday, Democrats are weighing a tough calculus: whether to lend Republicans enough votes to keep most government operations from grinding to a halt — or risk a shutdown until they can extract some concessions from the ruling party. Narrowly avoiding a shutdown has become a regularity in Washington in recent years. Passing stopgap continuing spending resolutions has been the norm for a while now , but Republicans’ narrow majority in the House has meant they’ve regularly had to get help from Democrats to keep money flowing to fund the government. Now Democrats are weighing whether it's time for the break-glass measure.  The challenge: Government shutdowns are historically unpopular, and can be politically damaging to the party seen as responsible. The five-week partial shutdown that bled from 2018 into 2019 meant furloughs for many federal workers and strained working conditions for others. But with tens of thousands already out of a job as a result of DOGE’s cuts — and with a base itching to see them take action to check Trump’s power — Democrats are leaving the door open. In a letter to members over the weekend, Clark, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar didn’t explicitly tell them to vote no on the CR Republicans unveiled Saturday Clark on Saturday didn’t definitively indicate that shutdown is imminent. But she was already trying to get ahead of Republicans who will likely seek to blame the minority if they can’t get enough members of their own caucus on board with the funding patch. “There's never been a shutdown in this country where one party controls the White House and the House and the Senate, so don't look at us. Don't look at us,” she said. GOOD MONDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Hope you all enjoyed the extra hour of sunlight last night. TODAY — Gov. Maura Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll make an energy affordability announcement at 11 a.m. in Lowell and huddle with legislative leaders at 2 p.m. in Healey’s office. Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Drop me a line: kgarrity@politico.com .

DATELINE BEACON HILL

— “Diana DiZoglio acknowledged ‘threats’ to impartiality in legislative audit, records show,” by Chris Van Buskirk, Boston Herald: “State Auditor Diana DiZoglio acknowledged multiple times over the past two years that there are “threats” to her ability to impartially audit the Legislature because of her past work as a Massachusetts lawmaker, according to paperwork she signed obtained by the Herald. But in each of the documents, the former legislator maintained she is able to direct a bias-free audit of the House and Senate because of multiple safeguards and guidance her office received from a federal agency during a meeting in 2023 ahead of her first legislative probe. The Auditor’s General Counsel, Michael Lueng-Tat, said DiZoglio continues to be involved in the legislative audit effort because the office consulted with the U.S. Government Accountability Office, which ‘indicated that our assessments regarding independence threats and safeguards are consistent with’ general auditing standards found in the so-called Yellow Book.” MORE FROM THE AUDITOR’S OFFICE — “State auditor Diana DiZoglio says right to audit Mass. legislature not up for debate. ‘It is the law,’” by Jon Keller, WBZ News.  — “In Massachusetts, detectives are allowed to lie in interrogations. A new bill seeks to change that,” by Dan Glaun, The Boston Globe.  — “Stricter Mass. gun law in crossfire with safety activists, firearms advocates,” by Andrea Macho, Telegram & Gazette.  PETER DURANT has an already questionable history since his first action in office was to endorse the FLORIDA FASCIST!  excerpt from the article:  Sen. Peter Durant, R-Spencer, has been outspoken in pushing for repeal and has already begun to file several bills aimed at rolling back key provisions of the gun law. “The gun bill, as it was passed, really only hurts law-abiding citizens and makes their life much more difficult,” Durant said. “It makes it much more difficult to exercise their Second Amendment right.”  ***GUN ZEALOTS**** "R" VOTERS NEED TO SCRUTINIZE CANDIDATES! JOHN GASKY HAS A READING COMPREHENSION PROBLEM! THE APPEALS COURT DECISION IS WIDELY AVAILABLE & PERTAINED TO HAND GUNS! SPONSORED THE LEGISLATION! JOHN GASKY RAN UN-OPPOSED!  BIG MISTAKE FOR THIS CLOWN! HAND GUNS! Federal law banning handgun sales 18- to 20-year-olds is unconstitutional, appeals court rules CNN MASSACHUSETTS: MASS GOP JOHN GASKY IGNORANCE IS NOT A SOLUTION! ****BEWARE! GUN ZEALOTS RETURN!****   ****BEWARE! GUN ZEALOTS RETURN!**** STUDIES INDICATE THAT THE MAJORITY OF AMERICANS FAVOR STRONG GUN LAWS THAT PROTECT THE PUBLIC ARTICLE WORTH READING!   The 10 States With the Highest Gun Death Rates excerpts: At the same time, 60% of U.S. adults viewed gun violence as "a very big problem," and data illuminates why: There were more than 48,000 gun deaths across the U.S. in 2022, according to figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s down slightly from the year before but still amounts to more than 130 people dying from a gun injury each day, frequently in connection with suicide or homicide.   The states with the lowest firearm fatality rates include Rhode Island (3.1 per 100,000), Massachusetts (3.7) and Hawaii (4.5), all of which require background checks and/or permits for gun purchases and firearm training. In six of the 10 states with the lowest death rates, handgun sale records are sent to law enforcement. Most of those 10 states also regulate the open carry of firearms. https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/articles/states-with-the-highest-gun-death-rates  THE MAJORITY OF VOTERS SUPPORT GUN REFORM! SUPPORT THOSE GROUPS!  PAY ATTENTION BECAUSE A SMALL ACTIVE GROUP OF WELL FUNDED GUN ZEALOTS OPPOSE THOSE EFFORTS!  OTHER STATES ALLOW GUN PURCHASES WITH NO PERMITS, NO BACKGROUND CHECKS & NO LIMITS THERE IS NO TRACKING OF THOSE GUNS THAT ARE FLOODING OUR STREETS  — “Groups sue state over firearm age restrictions,” by Christian M. Wade, The Eagle-Tribune: “A coalition of gun rights groups are suing Massachusetts over a ban on the sale of handguns and semi-automatic firearms to anyone age 18 to 20, arguing that the state’s restrictions are unconstitutional in the wake of recent federal court rulings. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Boston on Friday, alleges that the state’s age restrictions violate the Second Amendment and are ‘inconsistent’ with the nation’s history of firearm regulation. They are asking a judge to declare that the restrictions on 18- to 20-year-olds unconstitutional and prohibit the state from enforcing them.” PAY WALL — “Lawmakers, police leaders push new bill to close gap in state Heart Law for police, including at UMass Amherst,” by Mitch Fink, Daily Hampshire Gazette.  ‘FED UP’ —  In the wake of DOGE’s federal job cuts, Gov. Maura Healey’s office launched a new website Friday featuring resources for fired federal workers and highlighting open positions in state government. Other states, like New York and Pennsylvania , have made similar efforts to attract former federal employees. More from the Boston Globe.

FROM THE HUB

ABOUT WU'S LEGAL TEAM — The team Boston Mayor Michelle Wu hired from Cahill Gordon & Reindel for $650,000 to help with her congressional hearing prep was led by Ed O’Callaghan, who previously served in the Justice Department as principal counselor to the deputy attorney general, according to a member of Wu’s team who participated in the preparation. Wu also had a hand from a crew at WilmerHale — the firm that helped prepped two of the college presidents before their testimony. The WilmerHale team, who helped out pro bono, was led by Wu’s longtime mentor, Bill Lee, and formal prep sessions were held in WilmerHale’s Boston and D.C. offices. — “Boston advocacy groups push back against proposed school closures,” by John Hilliard, The Boston Globe: “A coalition of 17 Boston advocacy groups critical of four proposed school closures next year called on the city’s public schools administrators last week to produce a long-range facilities plan in collaboration with families and advocates. In a statement, the Build BPS/Green New Deal Stakeholders Coalition said the proposed closures of the Dever Elementary School, and the Excel, Mary Lyon Pilot, and Community Academy high schools disproportionately harm low-income Black and Latino students. The group said Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and Superintendent Mary Skipper should create a new plan for the future use and closures of school buildings with greater community input.” — “Boston city employees cash in thousands with unused sick and vacation time,” by Joe Dwinell and Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald: “More than 30 city employees cashed in on unused vacation and sick time last year, boosting their take-home pay by more than $100,000 in a public-sector perk a fiscal watchdog is warning must end. They were not alone. Another 135 city employees also used the ‘other’ category to pad their gross pay, a Herald analysis of Boston’s 2024 payroll shows. It’s all a budgetary danger zone, warns Marty Walz, interim president of the Boston Municipal Research Bureau.” PAY WALL BOSTON HERALD PROPAGANDA RAG!

THE RACE FOR CITY HALL

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — State Reps. Mike Moran and Kevin Honan and Boston City Councilor Liz Breadon endorsed Boston Mayor Michelle Wu at Moran’s St. Patrick’s Day Brunch in Allston over the weekend. — “Kraft blasts Wu’s $650K sanctuary city hearing prep tab,” by Matthew Medsgar, Boston Herald: “Mayoral candidate Josh Kraft took aim at his opponent, incumbent Michell Wu, over the weekend, blasting her for spending over half a million dollars to prepare for her grilling by the House Oversight Committee in Washington last week. ‘I understand preparation, but in a time when the city is becoming more and more fiscally vulnerable, I think $650,000 preparation is a lot of money. There should have — if it was me — I would have looked at other, more cost effective measures, to prepare for testimony in D.C.,’ Kraft told WCVB in an interview aired Sunday. … Kraft also said Wu could have made last Wednesday’s trip with a significantly smaller entourage. Wu’s rival said he would have left behind most of the dozen or so staffers who went along with the mayor on her trip.” PAY WALL BOSTON HERALD PROPAGANDA RAG! WATCH — Kraft’s interview is here . THE NEWTON NEBBISH TAP DANCING AROUND THE ISSUE:  “There is a court date on March 18 on whether this change in White Stadium can happen legally, so I don’t understand the rush to start the demolition now,” Kraft said. “It started at $50,000, now it's $100,000, you know it’s just going to go up. If we really wanted to change the stadium for high school kids, the city wouldn’t have worked on a pre-process, creating an RFP with the soccer team owners. It proves to me that this wasn’t about the kids, it was about the soccer team.” Kraft was asked about his family’s project to build a professional soccer stadium in Everett for the New England Revolution, and if Boston needs two professional soccer stadiums roughly five miles from each other. When asked how he would convince voters that between his family and the city of Boston, he would have Boston's best interests at heart, Kraft said, “Well, first of all, I'd recuse myself, as I said, and then I will show you through my actions that I'm always going to put the city first. ” FROM THE DELEGATION ***WORTH READING!*** — “At Malden town hall, Mass. Sen. Markey makes case against ‘Muskocracy’,” by John L. Micek, MassLive: “U.S. Sen. Ed Markey calls himself a proud son of Malden. And on Saturday, he returned to his hometown to hold a town hall with constituents at Malden High School. There, he said he wanted to emphasize the ground-level impact of the massive federal funding and staffing cuts pursued by President Donald Trump and his tech billionaire ally Elon Musk.” — “Auchincloss says he'll fight for Fall River Social Security office: His take on 5 issues,” by Dan Medeiros, The Herald News: “About 300 people from across southern Massachusetts turned out for a town hall hosted by U.S. Rep. Jake Auchincloss on Saturday afternoon, where the congressman promised to fight a potential closure of the Social Security Administration office. For a little over an hour, the third-term congressman responded to questions from the crowd on everything from President Donald Trump’s opposition to diversity, equity and inclusion policies, to the bankruptcy of Steward Health Care, to high energy bills.” — “Mass. Rep. Moulton seeks answers on VA cuts impact on vets' crisis line,” by John L. Micek, MassLive: “U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton, joined by a Nebraska Republican, is pressing the Trump administration to explain sweeping cuts at the Department of Veterans Affairs that may have scooped up workers who deal with veterans in crisis. The agency plans to cut more than 80,000 workers to return it to 2019 staffing levels of just under 400,000 employees, Reuters reported earlier this week. … This week, Moulton, D-6th District, fired off a letter, co-signed by U.S. Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., a retired U.S. Air Force brigadier general, to VA Secretary Doug Collins, seeking clarity on the reductions and their potential impact on workers who staff the Veterans Crisis Line.” THE LOCAL ANGLE — “Can Everett’s mayor keep settlement from a lawsuit funded by campaign contributions? Past opinions say no,” by Stephanie Ebbert, The Boston Globe: “Already under pressure to repay $180,000 in city funds that the state’s inspector general said were improperly paid to him, Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria Jr. could face demands to surrender a significantly larger sum that he won in a recent legal settlement. Three months ago, DeMaria announced the owner and publisher of a local newspaper had agreed to pay him $1.1 million to settle a defamation claim. To pay for the lawsuit, DeMaria had tapped his political campaign fund and created a separate legal defense fund through the state Office of Campaign and Political Finance.” — “MeVa question: Drop in ridership tied to ICE jitters or winter weather?,” by Terry Date, The Eagle-Tribune: “How to meet the moment at a time when aggressive enforcement of immigration laws is a stated goal of the Trump Administration? MeVa bus transit officials and board members posed this question at a regular meeting late this week. It generated wide and delicate discussion but no definitive answers, though a general consensus emerged around a desire to craft an appropriate response to any aggressive enforcement actions, a response that is legal and respects individual rights.” — “City locks in final ARPA spending plans,” by Grace Ferguson, The New Bedford Light: “New Bedford has finalized plans to spend the last of its federal pandemic relief dollars, meeting a critical deadline at the end of last year. … New Bedford locked in about $16 million during the last three months of 2024, according to the latest spending report, released last week. The vast majority of those dollars were obligated in December alone. The city mainly followed its previous spending plans, but made a few new commitments, including $1.1 million more for the Zeiterion and $476,000 more for lighting in Brooklawn Park.” — “Norton election to feature two races,” by Stephen Peterson, The Sun Chronicle: “It appears there will be a three-way race for two select board seats and four candidates are vying for three planning board seats in the April 26 annual town election. That was the picture by Friday’s deadline to return nomination papers, according to Town Clerk Jill Seppa. The candidates for the two three-year seats on the five-member select board are former longtime selectman Robert Kimball, board chairman Steven Hornsby, and former school board and planning board member Kevin O’Neill, who now sits on the permanent building committee.” — “Former Boston ICE office director selected to lead national agency as acting director,” by Susannah Sudborough, MassLive: “The former director of U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Boston Field Office has been selected by the Trump administration to head the agency’s national office. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem announced Todd Lyons' appointment as acting director of ICE in a social media post and interview with CBS News on Sunday. Noem also announced that Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Secretary Madison Sheahan would serve as deputy director of ICE.” HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to Dave Newman Want to make an impact? POLITICO Massachusetts has a variety of solutions available for partners looking to reach and activate the most influential people in the Bay State. Have a petition you want signed? A cause you’re promoting? Seeking to increase brand awareness among this key audience? Share your message with our influential readers to foster engagement and drive action. Contact Jesse Shapiro to find out how: jshapiro@politico.com .   Follow us on Twitter Kelly Garrity @KellyGarrity3   Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook  |  Playbook PM  |  California Playbook  |  Florida Playbook  |  Illinois Playbook  |  Massachusetts Playbook  |  New Jersey Playbook  |  New York Playbook  |  Ottawa Playbook  |  Brussels Playbook  |  London Playbook View all our politics and policy newsletters Follow us    POLITICO 1000 Wilson Blvd Arlington, VA, 22209, USA