Trump Raises Eyebrows With Declaration That Homelessness, Other Struggles In Cities Have Only Been Around For Two Years

The New York Times: Trump Expresses Shock At Homelessness, ‘A Phenomenon That Started Two Years Ago’
For decades before moving into the White House, President Trump lived in the heart of Manhattan but apparently never noticed that his hometown had a homelessness problem. Until now. In a puzzling series of comments during an interview over the weekend, Mr. Trump professed his concern about people living on the streets in America’s biggest cities, declaring that it is “a phenomenon that started two years ago.” (Shear, 7/2)

USA Today: Trump On Tucker Carlson: Feds May 'Intercede' On City 'Filth'
Although Trump never explicitly used the term "homeless" or "homelessness" in the interview, that appeared to be the issue he was addressing, saying "some of them have mental problems where they don't even know they're living that way" and "perhaps they like living that way." (Cummings, 7/2)

San Francisco Chronicle: Twitter Reacts To Trump's Comments On 'Filth' In San Francisco, Other U.S. Cities
He pointed a finger at the "liberal establishment" and specifically called out San Francisco. "San Francisco, I own property in San Francisco, so I don't care except it was so beautiful," he said. "And now areas that you used to think as being, you know, really something very special, you take a look at what's going on with San Francisco, it's terrible." Social media users were quick to question Trump's timeline for the start of the "filth" on the streets and took his comments to mean homelessness started only two years ago. (Graff, 7/2)

CNN: Fact Check: No Evidence Trump Did Anything That 'Ended' Washington Homelessness
"You know, I had a situation when I first became president, we had certain areas of Washington, DC, where that was starting to happen, and I ended it very quickly. I said, 'You can't do that.' When we have leaders of the world coming in to see the President of the United States and they're riding down a highway, they can't be looking at that. I really believe that it hurts our country. They can't be looking at scenes like you see in Los Angeles and San Francisco." This is a difficult claim to fact check, since it's unclear what precisely Trump was referencing and since the White House has not responded to CNN's request for clarification. So we can't definitively say that Trump is wrong. (Dale, 7/2)

Politico: Newsom On Trump Homeless Threat: 'I Don’t Know That He Knows What It Means'
California Gov. Gavin Newsom turned Donald Trump’s threat to “intercede” on homelessness back on the president Tuesday, welcoming federal help but faulting Trump for floating budget cuts to safety net programs. “It sounds like the president of the United States recognizes he has work to do on this issue,” Newsom said, spinning the president’s comments as “encouraging” — while rebuking Trump for proposals that would mean “decreasing the social safety net to address the reasons people are out on the streets and sidewalks in the first place,” questioning if Trump was “familiar with the tenets or details of his budget.” (White, 7/2)

The Associated Press: LA Mayor To Trump: Let’s Fix Homeless Crisis
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti proposed forming a politically unlikely partnership Tuesday to take on the city’s homeless crisis: with President Donald Trump. The Democratic mayor whose downtown streets have become home to filthy, drug-infested encampments for thousands of people issued a public invitation for the president to walk the streets with him and see firsthand the suffering and desperation. The growing homeless crisis in L.A. and across the nation “is not his fault, nor is it my fault, it is something that has been decades in the making,” the mayor said, noting that both Democratic and Republican cities have too many people on the streets. (Blood, 7/2)

Sacramento Bee: Trump Says ‘We May Do Something’ About California Homeless
The idea that homelessness is a new phenomenon is incorrect. California as a whole has grappled with homelessness for years. According to U.S. Housing and Urban Development data, in January 2010, there were estimated to be more than 123,000 homeless people in the state, while the situation was actually worse in January 2017, when there were estimated to be more than 134,000 homeless. In Sacramento County, homelessness is up 19 percent this year, with 5,570 people counted this year, up more than 1,900 from 2017. (Sheeler, 7/2)

The Washington Post: Trump Tries To Cast U.S. Cities As Filthy And Crime-Ridden In Attempt To Sway 2020 Voters
For Trump, a native New Yorker who has one of the most urban biographies of any U.S. president, the anti-city rhetoric offers an especially stark contrast between his personal history and the kind of voters he is banking on to win reelection. (Olorunnipa, 7/2)

And in other news —

The Associated Press: Hospitals Commit $2M To Baltimore Anti-Homelessness Effort
Ten hospitals in the Baltimore area have committed $2 million to help homeless families and individuals get permanent housing and supportive services. Mayor Bernard “Jack” Young announced on Tuesday the effort expected to benefit up to 400 people. Terry Hickey, director of the Mayor’s Office of Human Services, says the pilot program is meant to show housing can result in savings in health care costs. (7/2)

The Baltimore Sun: City, Baltimore Hospitals Partner On Plan To House, Care For 200 Homeless People 
The city of Baltimore and 10 local hospitals, including Johns Hopkins Hospital and University of Maryland Medical Center, are partnering to provide housing and services for 200 people and families, a program they hope will be a model for ending homelessness. The aim of the two-year pilot effort is to show that its “wraparound” treatment keeps people healthy, productive and in permanent homes. Leaders also hope to show the program is sustainable because they believe it will reduce health care spending over time. (Cohn, 7/2)