Since returning to the White House, President Donald Trump has been flexing his muscles in New York, taking far more interest in the issues and policies affecting his hometown than he did during his first four years in the Oval Office, political analysts tell Spectrum News.
In the past month, he has sought to cancel federal approval of congestion pricing in lower Manhattan, and clawed back $80 million in grants intended to help the city cover the costs of housing migrants.
His Department of Justice sued New York over the state’s immigration policies, and is moving to drop federal corruption charges against Mayor Eric Adams in return for Adams supporting the president’s immigration policies.
Former Democratic Congressman Steve Israel calls it payback.
“The problem for New York is that most of his life in business was spent there,” Israel said. “So he's got a long list of people that he believes mistreated him, and lots of scores to settle.”
Longtime journalist Tom Robbins argues Trump is motivated to impose his will on a city that has not always embraced him, likening it to a “revenge tour.”
“He's always felt very much an outsider in New York City. I mean, he was a kid from the outer boroughs,” Robbins said. “He never was accepted by the real estate titans of New York. He didn't go to the Real Estate Board of New York, the Rudins and the Tisches and the Spires — they looked down on him.”
Although Staten Island is Trump country, the city overall has long been a hotbed of the Trump resistance.
It also has been a source of legal headaches for the businessman-turned-politician. A Manhattan jury, for instance, found him guilty of 34 felonies in a high-profile hush money case.
During his first term, Trump did make some waves in the state, most notably signing into law the cap on the federal deduction for state and local tax payments, or SALT. The cap overwhelmingly hurts taxpayers in blue states like New York, where property and state income taxes are relatively high.
He also was accused of slow-walking progress on a new train tunnel under the Hudson River.
“He’s been poking his thumb in the city's eye for a while,” Robbins said.
Republicans defend the president’s actions, saying they reflect his policies and campaign promises. They also argue that New Yorkers are more accepting of his agenda, noting he increased his vote share in the state last year in comparison to the 2020 and 2016 elections.
“I think he's doing more because he can, because of the circumstances that we had this migrant crisis that was created by Joe Biden. We had this congestion pricing that was approved by Joe Biden,” Staten Island Republican Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis said.
“He said he was going to kill congestion pricing, and he took steps to do that,” Hudson Valley Congressman Mike Lawler said.
New York Democrats say they stand ready to aggressively resist any effort to hurt the state.
“We will not be intimidated, and we will continue to push back forcefully,” House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of Brooklyn said Thursday.
Asked about the president’s involvement in New York, White House spokesman Harrison Fields said in a statement, “President Trump is a President for all Americans and is working tirelessly to ensure every city in America is a beneficiary of his commitment to Make America Great Again.”
“From New York City to Los Angeles, the Trump Administration is working with anyone willing to improve the lives of our great citizens,” he continued.