Trump Tells Suburbanites They 'Will No Longer Be Bothered' by Low-Income Housing

President Trump made the controversial remarks via Twitter after repealing an Obama-era regulation that aimed to combat racial housing discrimination.

July 30, 2020

Donald Trump made another desperate attempt to win back suburban voters. And the classist, racist undertones couldn't be ignored.

On Wednesday, the president returned to Twitter to celebrate the repeal of the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing law—an Obama-era regulation that aimed to combat racial discrimination. Trump told suburbanites that his decision to rescind the rule meant they would "no longer be bothered ... by having low income housing built in their neighborhood," and claimed the decision would ensure lower crime rates and higher property values.

"I am happy to inform all of the people living their Suburban Lifestyle Dream that you will no longer be bothered or financially hurt by having low income housing built in your neighborhood," Trump tweeted. "Your housing prices will go up based on the market, and crime will go down. I have rescinded the Obama-Biden AFFH Rule. Enjoy!”

The 2015 AFFH rule, which was written under the Fair Housing Act, required communities that received federal funds to assess patterns of discriminatory housing practices and lay out plans to diminish them. The Trump administration said the regulation was much too laborious and said it would be replaced by a rule that "preserves flexibility for jurisdictions to take action based on the needs, interests, and means of the local community ..."

In the week since the AFFH replacement was announced, many lawmakers have taken to Twitter to slam the Trump administration. Some have also classified his recent tweets as racist dog whistles, as the AFFH was specifically intended to protect racial minorities.