President Trump attacked New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio on Wednesday for reallocating $1 billion from the NYPD's budget and ordering a large Black Lives Matter mural to be painted on Fifth Avenue, condemning it in a tweet as a "symbol of hate."
The big picture: It's yet another example of the president digging in on racial issues that explicitly appeal to his base, even as his poll numbers continue to spiral in the wrong direction months ahead of the election.
- The tweets came hours after Trump threatened to veto the annual National Defense Authorization Act over a proposed amendment that would rename military bases named after Confederate leaders, despite bipartisan support in Congress.
- Trump was also forced to take down a retweet of a video on Sunday that showed an elderly supporter yelling "white power" at protesters.
What he's tweeting:
"NYC is cutting Police $'s by ONE BILLION DOLLARS, and yet the @NYCMayor is going to paint a big, expensive, yellow Black Lives Matter sign on Fifth Avenue, denigrating this luxury Avenue. This will further antagonize New York's Finest, who LOVE New York & vividly remember the horrible BLM chant, 'Pigs In A Blanket, Fry 'Em Like Bacon'. Maybe our GREAT Police, who have been neutralized and scorned by a mayor who hates & disrespects them, won't let this symbol of hate be affixed to New York's greatest street. Spend this money fighting crime instead!"
Go deeper: Mike Pence explains why he refuses to say "Black lives matter"
