Suburban voters ‘will no longer be bothered’ by low-income housing

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump on Wednesday made one of his most open appeals so far in the campaign to White, suburban voters, saying in a tweet that they will no longer be “bothered” by low-income housing in their suburbs.

The tweets appear when polls show Trump’s reelection effort is failing in the suburbs, fueled by his administration’s failed response to the coronavirus pandemic, the resulting recession, and Trump’s aggressive opposition to the Black Lives Matter movement, which Polls show the support of the majority of suburban voters.

Trump’s tweet refers to the Fair Housing Rule that he affirmatively promotes, an update from the Obama administration to the civil rights legislation of 1968, the Fair Housing Act. The rule required local governments to receive federal funds for housing and development to account for partial practices and develop a plan to fix them.

Earlier this month, the Trump administration announced that it was replacing the fair housing rule with its own, which it called “Preserving Community and Neighborhood Choice.”

Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson said the Obama-era rule “turned out to be complicated, expensive and ineffective.”

“We found that it is unfeasible and, ultimately, a waste of time for localities to comply, which often results in funds being diverted from the communities that need them most,” Carson said in a press release in that moment.

However, studies have shown for decades that targeting low-income families in small geographic areas, a consequence of urban housing projects built in the 1960s and 1970s, only serves to exacerbate the difficulties faced by poor residents .

More recent research has also shown that one of the most successful ways to help low-income families get a good education for their children and integrate into the middle class is through the active integration of low-income housing in middle-class neighborhoods. and tall.

But for Trump, a sitting president behind the polls, fierce opposition to the integration of low-income housing is much more than just a zoning policy.

The tweets on Wednesday mark an escalation in Trump’s continued effort to stoke fear in suburban voters that poor urban residents, who are overwhelmingly people of color, will move to their suburbs if low-income housing is allowed. in single-family home neighborhoods.

In an election year defined by a pandemic, financial crisis, and a racial justice movement, Trump’s appeal to white suburban voters is a key part of his campaign strategy.

Trump’s line of attack has been condemned by Democrats and some Republicans, who say it echoes racist appeals to white voters during the Civil Rights era.

This strategy not only generates convictions across the political spectrum, according to surveys, it is also failing.

A recent Fox News poll showed Trump behind alleged Democratic candidate Joe Biden by 11 points nationwide among suburban voters. An ABC News / Washington Post poll released on July 19 revealed a similar spread, with Trump dropping 9 points in the suburbs to Biden.

Despite these ominous numbers, Trump has so far rejected the advice of campaign strategists who have urged him to expand his support base by appealing to more moderate Republicans, especially women. Instead, Trump has doubled down on racist and divisive messages, targeting them directly at women who polls say aren’t receptive to overtly racial appeals.

Last month, the President also defended Confederate monuments and the Confederate flag, and threatened to veto a Defense bill that would rename the military bases currently named for Confederate soldiers.

CNBC’s Kevin Breuninger contributed to this report.

This is a developing story. Please check for updates.