
Donald Trump has been slammed for using a racist dog whistle after announcing that he had rescinded an anti-discrimination rule in suburban neighbourhoods.
In a series of tweets posted by the president on Wednesday evening, Trump confirmed that he had abolished the AFFH (Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing) rule, which was updated by Barack Obama after being first introduced as part of the 1968 Federal Fair Housing Act.
The rule pushed cities and towns into addressing plans of racial segregation in housing plans and provide data that showed funds were not being spent on inner-city housing projects which perpetuated housing discrimination. Recent decades has seen this change and now people from poorer backgrounds can afford to live in the suburbs which were previously seen as a privileged area for white people to live in.
Trump's announcement that he was ripping up this act was largely greeted with contempt and accusations of racism with Democrats such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Elizabeth Warren, as well as others, being amongst the most vocal of this these critics.
I am happy to inform you that I’ve already introduced an amendment to block your latest racist, classist nonsense… https://t.co/ECJcJ6Hxrg— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) 1596058192
Let’s be clear: the President is using racist fear-mongering to say he’s happy to dismantle civil rights in search… https://t.co/MZyvbdRu0C— Elizabeth Warren (@Elizabeth Warren) 1596048029
This evil clown knows exactly what he is doing. He knows he is stoking racism. He knows he is weaponizing hate. H… https://t.co/6C9JhH6MPI— Charles Booker (@Charles Booker) 1596055498
In case you're still not sure what systemic racism and government-enforced economic inequality look like, they look… https://t.co/kIsb89ifAa— Stephen Schwartz (@Stephen Schwartz) 1596057893
This isn’t just racist. It’s factually wrong. I was a part of a city council that required developers to blend mark… https://t.co/yuS3DENrj8— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@Rep. Eric Swalwell) 1596058614
About 50 years late, DJT. https://t.co/6v1zEGgxqJ https://t.co/XVB8TvMW1x— Joe Scarborough (@Joe Scarborough) 1596060124
A horrifically racist statement from Donald Trump. We have to stop this man. https://t.co/qVwpZpKVr0— Don Winslow (@Don Winslow) 1596064774
We know exactly what this Racist in Chief means by "Suburban Lifestyle Dream." The AFFH rule was intended to help o… https://t.co/iJj5PSgGxH— Tammy Duckworth (@Tammy Duckworth) 1596068571
Trump has made a note of appealing to surburban voters as part of his election campaign as polls have shown that he is losing ground in these key areas to Joe Biden. Not only has he claimed that Biden will 'destroy the suburbs' he also said that the Democratic nominee wants to 'abolish windows.'