Trump accuses New York and California of incompetence over their 'record-breaking' homeless problems and insists they should 'politely' ask for his help
- President Trump hit out at New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and California Governor Gavin Newsom for their states' homeless problems
- This is the second time in the last week that Trump has criticized Newsom on Twitter over homelessness
- The number of homeless people in California increased more than 16% in the past year alone
- More than 140,000 residents are now without shelter on a given night
- Furious locals have begun placing boulders and large logs outside their homes and businesses to deter vagrants from setting up shelters
- A recent report from the Department of Housing and Urban Development found Democrat-controlled states had the highest rates of homelessness
- New York, Hawaii, California and Washington state topped the list
- Meanwhile, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Virginia and North Dakota had the lowest rates of homeless per 10,000 people
President Trump on Saturday hit out at New York and California for their ‘tremendous homeless problems’ which are ‘setting records.’
In an early morning tweet on Saturday, the president also hit out at the governors of the two states - New York’s Andrew Cuomo and California’s Gavin Newsom.
‘If their Governors can’t handle the situation, which they should be able to do very easily, they must call and “politely” ask for help,’ the president tweeted.
‘Would be so easy with competence!’
President Trump (seen left with First Lady Melania Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday) on Saturday tweeted criticism of the Democratic governors of New York and California for those states' rising homeless populations
‘If their Governors can’t handle the situation, which they should be able to do very easily, they must call and “politely” ask for help,’ the president tweeted
Trump was referring in his tweet to California Governor Gavin Newsom (left) and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (right)
DailyMail.com has reached out to Cuomo and Newsom seeking comment.
This is the second time in the last week that the president has targeted Newsom for criticism.
Trump took time out from his Christmas Day festivities to blast the Democratic governor of the nation's most populous state for failing to adequately address the state's growing homeless crisis.
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On Twitter, the president on Wednesday threatened to get the federal government involved in the crisis because Newsom is doing 'a really bad job'.
The tweet comes after the Department of Housing and Urban Development [HUD] released data last week revealing that the homeless rate in California has surged a staggering 16.4% in the past twelve months.
President Trump's motorcade is seen above in Palm Beach on Saturday morning. The president traveled from Mar-a-Lago to his golf course in West Palm Beach
The president is seen above in the back seat of his armored car as he drove to his golf course on Saturday
Now, more than 140,000 California residents are without shelter on any given night - accounting for more than a fifth of the entire homeless population across the United States.
Newsom, who only took office this year, appears to be blaming the Trump administration for the escalating crisis.
He was seen on camera last week, stating: 'They're [the Trump Administration] not serious about this issue. They're playing politics with it, expect nothing but division coming and emanating from the folks at HUD and the President.'
Conservative commentator Tomi Lahren posted the clip to her Twitter account last week and added the comment: 'Take accountability, Gavin. This is your state and you and your Democratic cohorts created this mess. You can't blame @realDonaldTrump forever. Step away from the hair gel and get to work!!!'
Trump then retweeted Lahren on Christmas afternoon, before adding his own threat to get the feds involved in the state.
'Governor Gavin N has done a really bad job on taking care of the homeless population in California. If he can’t fix the problem, the Federal Govt. will get involved!'
The President took to Twitter on Wednesday afternoon, threatening to get the federal government involved in the crisis because Newsom is doing 'a really bad job'
Data released last week revealed that the homeless rate in California has surged a staggering 16.4% in the past twelve months. An encampment is pictured in Los Angeles
More than 140,000 California residents are without shelter on any given night - more than a fifth of the entire homeless population across the United States
A man living in a homeless encampment in Santa Rosa, California is pictured with his dog earlier this month
Meanwhile, the recent study from HUD found that homeless rates are more prevalent in Democrat controlled states.
Blue states, such as New York, Hawaii, California and Washington had the highest rates of homelessness per 10,000 people.
States with the lowest rates of homelessness per 10,000 people are Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Virginia and North Dakota.
A Christmas food bank set up for homeless residents in Los Angeles is pictured on Sunday
Blue states, such as New York, Hawaii, California and Washington had the highest rates of homelessness per 10,000 people. The above January 2017 file photo shows a homeless man sleeping on a subway platform bench in New York City
The HUD report found that California was not the state with the largest percentage increase in their homeless population.
The number of homeless people in the state of New Mexico increased by 27% in 2019.
Meanwhile, furious residents in California have begun taking matters into their own hands - fed up that the state government appears to be inadequately addressing the crisis.
In Oakland, business owners recently put large logs over their streets to deter homeless people from setting up camps.
In San Francisco, residents placed boulders on the sidewalk to stop encampments outside their doors.
San Francisco, as well as other California cities, have undergone a homeless crisis that has permeated into every day and affected thousands of people
Pictured: a homeless man sleeps on a makeshift bed made of pieces cardboard pieces in San Francisco
Several neighbors combined a few hundred dollars to buy the boulders and placed them in a row near street curbs.
A spokeswoman from the San Francisco Public Works department said the city was not involved in the boulder placement and originally said they would not remove the boulders because they weren't blocking the main walkway.
This response angered advocates who said the boulder placement was 'anti-homeless architecture'.
Authorities eventually removed the boulders after saying they posed a road safety hazard.
Meanwhile, the city's Tenderloin district is a particular grievance for residents who want to clean up the area.
Advocates said the boulders (pictured), which were eventually moved by city officials due to road safety hazard, was a 'anti-homeless architecture'
Pictured: several homeless residents erected a camp on Martin Luther King Jr. Way in Oakland, California
The Tenderloin district hosts addicts and homeless who reportedly leave behind human waste, as well as used needles.
The city set up public toilets in an attempt to combat this and last year the formation of the 'poop patrol', a special six-person team tasked with cleaning up the feces around San Francisco, was announced.
San Francisco also funded an initiative to hire people to collect used needles off the street.
The San Francisco City Performance Scorecard reports that there are 9,784 individuals that meet the federal definition of homeless in 2019 - rising 30 percent more than the 2017 count.
Jeff Kositsky, the director for the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing, estimates that 20,000 homeless people reside or pass through San Francisco any given year.
Even with the rise of the homeless crisis and residents calling for action, only five percent of the city's total budget is used to combat homelessness.
The city has faced government and federal criticism in addition to resident outcry.
President Donald Trump visited California in mid-September and subsequently unleashed a very public condemnation of San Francisco's homeless crisis.
Trump blamed 'liberal policies' for the crisis and said city officials were allowing waste to filter through storm drains leading to the ocean.
'It's a terrible situation that's in Los Angeles and in San Francisco,' Trump said of the issue.
He has since made homelessness in major U.S. cities a campaign issue going into the 2020 election.
The Environmental Protection Agency accused the state of California of failing to protect residents from 'degraded water.'
In a letter from Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler, he addressed Gov. Gavin Newsom.
The letter said: 'California needs to fulfill its obligation to protect its water bodies and, more importantly, public health, and it should take this letter as notice that EPA is going to insist that it meets its environmental obligations.'
'If California does not step up to its delegated responsibilities, then EPA will be forced to take action.'
The letter directly linked the alleged water pollution to the homelessness crisis.
Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson (pictured) rejected a housing aid request from California Gov. Gavin Newsom and mayors from the state's 13 largest cities
Although the Trump administration has told San Francisco and California to clean up its act, they're unwilling to pay for it.
Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson rejected a housing aid request from Gov. Newson and mayors from the state's 13 biggest cities.
The request asked for additional resources to fight homelessness, including 50,000 housing vouchers for the poor.
Carson said: 'Your letter seeks more federal dollars for California from hardworking American taxpayers but fails to admit that your state and local policies have played a major role in creating the current crisis.'
Carson implied that California's law enforcement policies, over-regulated housing market and sanctuary city policies are the root problem.
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Read more:
- Dorm Housing, Communal TVs, Underground Tunnels Envisioned For ¿All-Inclusive¿ $3 Billion, 300-Acre City For The Homeless ¿ CBS Los Angeles
- Fundraiser by Duane Nason : Citizens Again: Build a city for chronic homeless
- Folsom Man Proposes Building $3B All-Inclusive Homeless City ¿ Good Day Sacramento
- Homeless in California Statistics 2018. Homeless Estimation by State | US Interagency Council on Homelessness
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