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Twitter Skewers Trump After He Says Homelessness Is A New Thing

BY July 2, 2019

During a Fox News interview with Tucker Carlson, President Donald Trump lamented about the issue of homelessness in the United States, noting the stark contrast between how many American cities differed from what he had seen in Osaka, Japan, during the G20 Summit.

Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Carlson asked Trump why some American cities have “major problems with filth.” Trump responded with a curious answer about how the problem is a relatively new one, The Daily Beast reported.

“It’s a phenomenon that started two years ago. It’s disgraceful. I’m going to maybe — I am looking at it very seriously,” Trump said.

The president also made claims that police officers were getting sick from homeless people being on the streets, and that he had supposedly cleaned up the streets of the nation’s capital since he took office.

In actuality, homelessness, while still a huge problem in the U.S., has been on the decline for more than the last decade, save for the two years of small increases that have occurred under Trump’s watch.

In 2007, according to statistics from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, there were around 647,258 individuals who were classified as homeless. That number dropped by 15 percent nine years later. Since that time, however, the number of homeless Americans has increased by a modest 0.53 percent.

Users on Twitter were fast to react to Trump’s statements, pointing out that it seemed like he was taking credit for the rise in homelessness, as well as taking note of the way in which the president may have demeaned people who are facing real hardships in their lives.

It remains to be seen how Trump, who said he may have to look into doing something as president to fix the issue, will act in the future. If the past is any indication, it doesn’t look promising.

As journalist Glenn Thrush noted, the administration itself has attempted to reduce the amount given for federal grants to tackle housing concerns and homelessness across the nation.

 

 

 

 



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